Military spend boost is con claims ex-defence secretar

Former defence secretary Sir Ben Wallace has branded Labour’s claims that it has boosted military spending a con” after concerns were raised over how the figures are being calculated.

- DAVID MADDOX

The row has exploded following Rachel Reeves’s spending review on Wednesday, where she boasted that defence spending would be 2.6 per cent of GDP. But this included wrapping in security and intelligence spending for the first time.

Earlier this year, prime minister Sir Keir Starmer controversially slashed international aid to boost defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2027, two years ahead of schedule. At the time, he also promised it would rise to 3 per cent by 2034.

However, since then, the 3 per cent pledge has been qualified to “if economic circumstances allow”, while the new calculation on defence spending has left questions over whether the boost is as big as first claimed.

According to the spending review, in 2027-28, defence is £71bn and the security and intelligence is £5.1bn, making a combined total of 76.1bn, which was cited as “2.6 per cent of GDP”.