PM pushes Nato to ‘step up’ spending on defence

BORIS Johnson will today push for Nato allies to spend more on defence – despite facing a row back home for abandoning a pledge to boost funding.

- Sam Lister

The Prime Minister wants to raise the minimum amount members devote to their military to above two per cent of national income in the face of Russia’s aggression.

But he has dropped his own manifesto commitment to increase defence spending by 0.5 per cent above inflation.

It has put him on a collision course with Defence Secretary Ben Wallace and Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, who want a 20 per cent hike to shore up the response to Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.