PM asks Nato to 'step up spending amid Wallace row

Boris Johnson will call on Nato allies to step up their defence spending in the face of the threat from Russia, despite a scathing attack from his own defence secretary, Ben Wallace, about the UK's "smoke and mirrors" military budget.

- ADAM FORREST

The prime minister said he would "leverage" Britain's military spending to "drive greater commitments from other people" ahead of crucial talks with fellow Nato leaders at a summit in Madrid. But Mr Wallace said UK forces had for too long survived on "a diet of smoke and mirrors, hollowed-out formations and fantasy savings" - after calling for the PM to commit to a 20 per cent spending increase.

The new head of the British army, General Sir Patrick Sanders, has warned that any further cuts to troops - set to shrink from a target figure of 82,00 to 72,500 - would be "perverse". The row erupted after it emerged that Mr Wallace had written to the PM to ask him to hike military spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2028. The defence secretary fears the target will not be hit without significant new commitments.