Boris Johnson has sought to justify his government’s increase in defence spending by saying that the “cost of freedom is always worth paying” amid Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
At a Nato summit in Madrid, the PM announced a further £55 billion in defence spending until 2030, while spiralling inflation – currently at 9 per cent – continues to erode people’s spending power and living standards are dropping.
When asked at the summit if he is worried about “Ukraine fatigue”, amid a cost of living crisis at home, Mr Johnson replied: “The point I would make about the cost of freedom is that, actually, it is always worth paying.
“Unless we get the right result in Ukraine, Putin will be in a position to commit further acts of aggression against other parts of the former Soviet Union more or less with impunity.
“That will drive further global uncertainty, further oil shocks, further panics and more economic distress for the whole world.”
Earlier, former Labour PM Gordon Brown accused the government of not seeming to “have a clue” about how to deal with the cost of living crisis.
Zahawi scraps bid to gain more control over academy trusts
The government has made a U-turn on key elements of its schools bill that would have given the Department for Education (DfE) more control over academy trusts in England.
The bill, tabled by education secretary Nadhim Zahawi, is being opposed by some Conservative and crossbench peers because it gives him a veto over appointments as school trustees, the power to cancel funding agreements, and determine the length of the school day within each trust.
Kenneth Baker, the former Tory education secretary under Margaret Thatcher, said in the Lords: “It increases the powers of the secretary of state and the DfE in a way unprecedented since 1870.”
A DfE spokesperson said: “We are listening to concerns from peers about how the provisions in the bill would operate in practice, and will make sure the bill protects and strengthens the fundamental freedoms academies enjoy.
“That is why we are supporting the temporary removal of clauses 1-18 from the bill, in advance of bringing back revised clauses later in the bill’s passage through parliament.”
Bridget Phillipson, the shadow education secretary, said Mr Zahawi “has ripped up his own plans and is back to the drawing board with his very first piece of primary legislation”.
Barristers offered 15 per cent hike in fees just days after striking for better pay
Criminal barristers are to receive a 15 per cent fee rise from the end of September, the government announced just days after they closed courts by going on strike.
The rise will see a typical criminal barrister receive an additional £7,000 a year, said the Ministry of Justice.
Our politics editor Andrew Woodcock will have more on this breaking story as it comes in.
Defence spending pledge ‘too little, too late’
Boris Johnson’s pledge to increase defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2030 is “too little, too late,” a senior Tory has said.
Tobias Ellwood, a former defence secretary, also said now is “not the time to cut the army by 10,000”.
Wallace welcomes increased defence spending
Defence secretary Ben Wallace has lobbied for increased spending.
A source close to Mr Wallace said: “The defence secretary has always been clear that as the threat changes, so should defence spending.
“In 2020 the prime minister reversed decades of under-investment in defence and he rightly responded to Russia’s danger by continuing to invest in defence, for which the defence secretary is very grateful.”
Boris Johnson tells Britons that ‘cost of freedom worth paying’ amid Ukraine ‘fatigue’ fears
As we’ve been reporting, Boris Johnson is attending the Nato summit, where he is discussing with other world leaders the war in Ukraine among other issues.
Speaking in Madrid, the prime minister said the “cost of freedom is always worth paying” as he warned that the economic outlooking at home is likely to get worse before it gets better.
Our deputy politics editor Rob Merrick has the story:
One of Keir Starmer‘s shadow ministers has walked away from the Labour leader’s frontbench team.
In a resignation letter issued on Thursday Mike Amesbury said he wanted to have more freedom to campaign in his local constituency.
Our policy correspondent Jon Stone reports:
Boris Johnson commits to spending 2.5% of GDP on defence by end of decade
Boris Johnson has said the UK will spend 2.5 per cent of GDP on defence by the end of this decade.
Speaking from the Nato conference in Madrid, the prime minister said: “We need to invest for the long-term in vital capabilities like future combat air whilst simultaneously adapting to a more dangerous and more competitive world.
“The logical conclusion of the investments on which we propose to embark, these decisions, is that we’ll reach 2. 5 per cent of GDP on defence by the end of the decade.”
Rishi Sunak’s ‘stealth tax’ creates 2 million new higher rate payers in just 3 years
Nearly two million more people are paying higher rate income tax because Rishi Sunak has scrapped normal increases in allowances, new figures reveal.
The numbers paying the higher 40 per cent rate or the additional 45 per cent rate has soared since Boris Johnson came to power in 2019 because of the “stealth tax”, they show.
Our deputy politics editor Rob Merrick reports:
Women and children among latest to make Channel crossing in small boats
Women and children were among 269 people who made the latest crossings to the UK in small boats.
Six boats were intercepted by UK authorities crossing the English Channel on Wednesday, with Border Force and RNLI vessels bringing the migrants ashore at Dover and Dungeness in Kent.
The crossings bring the total to have arrived in the UK so far this year to 12,606, compared with 5,911 at this point in 2021 and 2,449 in 2020.
The Nationality and Borders Act came into force on Tuesday, and anyone caught piloting a boat carrying migrants in the Channel could face life behind bars.
Give MPs vote on plans to cut army by 10,000, ex-defence minister says
A Tory former defence minister believes MPs would vote to reverse government plans to axe 9,500 troops by 2025.
Tobias Ellwood, who chairs the defence select committee, pressed ministers to hold a Commons vote to decide whether to halt the proposals in light of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The government wants to cut the size of the regular British army from 82,000 troops to 72,500.
Mr Ellwood told the Commons: “Can I strongly commend the government’s exemplary support for Ukraine, but when the head of the British army compares today to 1937 we must listen and we must act.
“It’s clearly not time to be cutting our Army by 10,000 troops because this sends a clear message to (Russian President Vladimir) Putin that we’re not in it for the long haul, we can’t sustain two battlegroups in Estonia and place pressure on the Army to conduct all its other duties to keep the nation safe.
“Can we have a debate and indeed a vote on reversing these cuts?
“If there was a free vote I know how the house would act and they’d have the nation’s support.”
