Support for UK firms in the dash for defence

RACHEL Reeves is to help firms “step up” and make military gear as billions more pounds are spent on defence.

- Jonathan Walker

The Chancellor told a manufacturing industry conference in London that she wants to “fire up Britain’s industrial base” and step up arms production, claiming the issue has been “ducked and dodged” for too long.

A defence “innovation hub” would help smaller businesses benefit from the spending, she said.

But the Chancellor told business leaders: “We'll always have a need to buy things from abroad.