Government set to make decision on defence spending 'within weeks'

Speaking to LBC at a defence conference on Wednesday, armed forces minister Al Carns hinted that the Government could decide to increase spending “in a couple of weeks” to give our armed forces “the right capabilities”.

It comes amid reports that the prime minister is considering accelerating planned increases to defence spending, after NATO figures warned the UK risks falling behind European allies.

But the Chancellor Rachael Reeves has reportedly pushed back on the plan - rejecting requests by the Ministry of Defence to increase its budget by billions of pounds.

And, as reported by LBC in November, senior military figures have warned the Government that the MoD faces a funding ‘crisis’, and could be forced to cut key capabilities within two years at a time of growing threats from Russia.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Chatham House Security and Defence Conference in London, Mr Carns admitted the Cabinet faced “difficult choices” on spending.

And when asked whether the Government was considering spending more on defence, he said: “In the next couple of weeks we’ve got decisions coming, so I would keep posted, and you will see us moving at the right speed to deliver the right capabilities for our armed forces.

“(We’ve) got all sorts of stuff coming up – the defence investment plan will come out when its ready. When it does, I think people will be interested to read over the detail.”

When asked to clarify the Minister’s comments, a Ministry of Defence source said he was referring to “general defence investment”, rather than the Defence Investment Plan, a much-anticipated report on how the Government will spend the money, which may be delivered in March.

Mr Carns, a former Royal Marines Officer known for taking a hard stance against Russia, told LBC we will see a “continuous rise” in defence spending over the next 10 years after a period of “hollowing out” our armed forces under previous governments.

He said: “We move into this new (period) where there has been an increase in hostile state threats and we really need to consider our defence and our security in line with that threat.”

The Government has already committed to spending 2.6 percent of GDP on defence by 2027 – rising to 3 percent in the next Parliament.

But critics have warned that we are not moving fast enough, with NATO intelligence reports assessing that Russia could be able to attack a NATO country within three to five years.

Faced with such warnings, the prime minister has reportedly considered meeting the 3 percent target by the end of the current parliament in 2029, which could amount to an additional £17 billion a year.