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Former prime minister Boris Johnson has called on the government to increase its defence spending to 3 per cent of GDP as European leaders face growing pressure to devote greater resources to regional security.
Mr Johnson was on Monday in Kyiv for the third anniversary of Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, where he told The Telegraph an increase to 2.5 per cent of national income was “not enough” ahead of Keir Starmer’s meeting with US president Donald Trump this week.
“We should get to 3 per cent by 2030,” Mr Johnson he told the masthead.
The former Tory leader earlier told The Independent Ukraine is just “days away” from signing a deal to cede control of its rare earth minerals to the US as part of a process to end the war with Russia.
His comments add to a growing domestic and international debate over the level of spending European allies should commit to continental security to fend off future Russian aggression, as the US brokers a peace deal to end the Ukraine war.
On Sunday, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson sought to manage expectations ahead of Sir Keir’s visit to the US as Washington demands European allies shoulder the overwhelming share of the burden of security on the continent.
Asked whether the Prime Minister would promise Donald Trump that Britain will spend “much more” when he meets the US President next week, Ms Phillipson told the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme: “Let’s be clear, 2.5 per cent is ambitious.
“We will get there, but it is ambitious, and this is also in the context of the public finances which, let’s be honest were left in a devastating state by the Conservatives – a £22 billion black hole, no credible plan for this nonsense that they claim around how they were going to reach 2.5 per cent.”
