UK ‘must raise military spend for US relations’

The government must increase spending on the armed forces if Britain is to maintain its defence relationship with the United States, MPS have warned.

The Commons Defence Committee said without further investment, UK forces would struggle to maintain “interoperability” with the US military, diminishing their usefulness as allies.

US president Donald Trump has demanded European allies take on a greater share of collective defence. The committee repeated its call for the government to raise defence spending from the Nato minimum of 2 per cent of GDP to 3 per cent – £60 billion a year.