Find extra for defence or risk invasion from Russia, PM told
RISHI Sunak and Jeremy Hunt were yesterday warned to find more money for defence or risk a Nazi-style invasion of Europe by Russia.
The pair came under intense pressure from their own MPs to increase defence spending to at least 2.5 per cent of GDP during a stirring Commons debate.
Failure to invest more could result in Britain or its allies being made to pay ‘a very high price’ by an emboldened Vladimir Putin, the Prime Minister and Chancellor were told.
Former Armed Forces minister Mark Francois said Britain would be incapable of fighting a ‘sustained war with Putin’s Russia for more than a couple of months before we ran out of ammunition and fighting equipment’ and this is ‘ wholly unworthy’ of a Tory Government.
‘If you happen to believe, as I do, that the role of our Armed Forces is to save lives by convincing any potential aggressor that were they to attack us we would defeat them, then we are failing,’ he said.
‘This is ultimately about whether our grandchildren are going to grow up in someone else’s re-education camp. The skies are darkening, brutal dictators with powerful weapons at their disposal are on the rise.
‘The democracies are on the back foot rather than the front. History tells us again and again that the appeasement of dictators – be they called Adolf Hitler or Vladimir Putin – does not work.
‘ We should be increasing the defence budget to at least 3 per cent of GDP.’ Britain is spending about 2.3 per cent of GDP on defence but the Government is now under mounting pressure after Mr Hunt failed to find extra money in this month’s Spring Budget.
Danny Kruger, co-chairman of the influential New Conservatives group, said ‘we need to be spending at least 3 per cent’. Sir Alec Shelbrooke added: ‘We are going to have to spend more money, but we also need to spend it more efficiently.’
Yesterday’s debate centred around two reports which criticised military funding, including one by the Commons defence committee.
This concluded that the Armed Forces are not ready for a ‘ highintensity’ war without shortages in personnel and equipment being rapidly addressed after years of ‘hollowing out’.
The chair of the committee, Sir Jeremy Quin, told MPs that Britain had been investing 5 per cent of GDP in defence at the time the Berlin Wall fell in 1989.
He added: ‘To enable us to be fully prepared for peer-on-peer war-fighting, something must give.
‘A failure to invest could result in a very high price indeed.’
Closing the debate, defence minister James Cartlidge said that a rise to 3 per cent would cost an extra £20billion, or £6.5billion to get to 2.5 per cent.
The Daily Mail is calling for an immediate boost to defence spending with its Don’t Leave Britain Defenceless campaign.
Meanwhile Defence Secretary Grant Shapps has signed an agreement with his Australian counterpart, Richard Marles.
Mr Shapps said it was ‘extraordinary’ the countries did not already have a formal agreement in place.
It is designed to make it easier for the two countries’ armed forces to operate in each other’s territories, as well as facilitating UK submarine crews visiting Australia.