Shapps calls on allies to raise defence spending
BRITAIN’S allies must boost their armies in the face of the most dangerous threat to peace in decades, the Defence Secretary has urged.
Grant Shapps called on Western nations to follow the UK’s lead by spending billions more to make sure they are ready for war.
He called for Nato members to match a new pledge to invest at least 2.5% of national income on the military and kit it needs to fight.
Mr Shapps told the Daily Express: “There can be no doubt that threats to the UK and our interests are increasing. That’s why the Prime Minister and I are increasing Britain’s defence spending to 2.5% by 2030.
Brave
“This is the right thing to do and confirms our place as the biggest defence power in Europe.
“My message to Nato countries is clear: step up, be brave.
“Together we can create a safer, stronger alliance. The minimum spend must be raised to 2.5%.”
Mr Shapps and Rishi Sunak will push for allies to set the new target when they meet for Nato’s 75th
anniversary summit in Washington DC. But most Nato members have failed to meet or are only just reaching the 2% target that was set a decade ago.
Mr Shapps stressed the threat has soared over the last 10 years with growing hostility from China, Russia, Iran and North Korea.
The Defence Secretary’s rallying cry comes after Mr Sunak’s whistlestop visit to Poland and Germany to lay out Britain’s plan to invest an
extra £75billion by the end of the decade. Defence spending will rise gradually over the next six years, reaching £87billion a year by 2030.
He said: “I have decided to prioritise defence because I think that is the right thing for our country.”
At a press conference with Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin, Mr Sunak praised Germany for increasing its defence spending, and hailed its ties with the UK.
He said: “At this dangerous
moment, the bond between our two nations is stronger than ever.
“We meet as a war rages on our continent and new threats are rising around the world. We stand here today together as the leading defence spenders in Europe.”
Nine British Army Apache attack helicopters have set out for Finland to join a training mission described as the “largest Nato exercise since the Cold War” before heading for more manoeuvres in Estonia.