Defence Secretary Ben Wallace could resign if Jeremy Hunt scraps defence spending boost

Published

2 years ago

October 15, 2022

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The UK’s new chancellor has raised the possibility of ditching a key pledge by Liz Truss to boost defence spending – a move that would likely be a resigning matter for her defence secretary, Ben Wallace.

Jeremy Hunt on Saturday refused to commit to lifting the amount of money spent on the armed forces to 3% of national income by 2030, as promised by the prime minister.

He also said the Ministry of Defence, like all other departments, would have to make additional savings.

Mr Wallace, one of the most experienced and well-regarded members of the embattled prime minister’s cabinet, has fought hard over the past three years to secure much-needed increases in defence spending at a time of growing security threats.

Asked whether any backtracking on defence spending goals would be a resigning issue, a defence source said Mr Wallace would hold the prime minister to the pledges made.

This includes a commitment to increase defence spending to 2.5% of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2026 from around 2% at present and then to 3% of GDP by 2030 in what would equate to around an extra £157billion over eight years.

But speaking about tough times ahead, Mr Hunt told Sky News: “I’m going to ask all departments to find more efficiencies than they were planning to find.”

He repeated this on Radio 4’s Today programme and was asked specifically if a “difficult tough decision” would be taken over the defence budget.

Mr Hunt replied: “We do need to increase defence spending, but I can’t make a promise to you here and now about the timings of that.”

He continued: “The long-term ability to fund an increase in defence spending will depend on stability in the economic situation and a healthily growing economy.”

Pressed on how he was leaving open the possibility of the 3% defence spending pledge not being delivered by 2030, Mr Hunt said: “I am leaving open all possibilities this morning. I wish I could give you more detail, but I will be presenting to parliament in a fortnight on Monday exactly what is going to happen and the answer to all those questions.”

He was referring to 31 October when the chancellor is due to issue a fiscal statement.

As well as a failure to commit to defence spending, Mr Hunt also made a flawed assessment that long-term defence spending can only be secured if there is economic stability.

In reality, there can be no economic stability without security.

The energy price rise – as the prime minister keeps saying – is caused by Vladimir Putin using energy as a weapon, reducing the flow of Russian oil and gas to pressure Western nations to stop their crucial support to Ukraine, which has helped thwart his invasion so far.

Had the Conservatives – and Labour before them – genuinely demonstrated the mantra that national security is their first priority the UK would not have seen successive governments slash defence spending and military capability over the past three decades.

NATO allies less likely to invest in defence if UK doesn’t

Hollowed out defences – and this is a simplification of a time that also included the disastrous Iraq and Afghanistan wars – have left the UK and fellow European NATO allies less able to deter the existential threats posed by authoritarian regimes like Russia’s.

So, it makes no sense to use the economic crisis, triggered in part by Russia’s war in Ukraine, as a reason to backtrack on a vital need to rebuild the UK’s armed forces.

Russia’s Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping of China, North Korea’s Kim Jong-un and all other leaders who prefer authoritarian rule over the values of democratic governments – human rights, rule of law and other freedoms – will be laughing.

Britain is one of the strongest voices in NATO, urging increased defence spending among all 30 allies – it is a live debate right now, with hopes to lift a minimal expenditure target to 2.5% of GDP from 2%.

If the UK were to lead by example and reduce ambitions to grow defence spending, it would make it far less likely other European allies will feel under pressure to boost their budgets.

The MoD has a largely poor track record of procurement, with programmes to build warships, aircraft and tanks too often running billions of pounds over budget and delivered late or not at all. That is inexcusable and also needs to change.

But ordering more efficiencies is going to make a bad situation even worse.

Many people have tried and failed to make the MoD and the armed forces more efficient.

The thing is, the UK’s military, security and intelligence services are too vital to fail and too important not to fund adequately, especially at a time of war in Europe, and the very real threat of escalation with Russia and China.

UK

Gatwick Airport: Police release two people who were detained amid security incident as South Terminal reopens

Published

3 hours ago

November 23, 2024

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Gatwick Airport: Police release two people who were detained amid security incident as South Terminal reopens

Two people detained during a security incident at Gatwick Airport have been allowed to continue their journeys after a suspect package saw a “large part” of the South Terminal evacuated.

The terminal was closed for hours after the discovery of a “suspected prohibited item” in a passenger’s luggage sparked an emergency response. It reopened at around 3.45pm.

Officers from the EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) team “made the package safe” before handing the airport back to its operator, Sussex Police said.

Their statement continued: “Two people who were detained while enquiries were ongoing have subsequently been allowed to continue their journeys.

“There will remain an increased police presence in the area to assist with passengers accessing the South Terminal for onward travel.”

The force also thanked the public and airport staff for their patience while the incident was ongoing.

Earlier the airport, which is the UK’s second busiest, said the terminal was evacuated after a “security incident”.

“The earlier security alert has now been resolved and cleared by police,” it later said in a statement on Friday afternoon.

“The South Terminal is reopening to staff and will be open to passengers shortly.”

Gatwick said some flights were cancelled while others were delayed.

It said passengers should contact their airlines for any updates on flights.

Footage on social media taken outside the airport showed crowds of travellers heading away from the terminal building.

“Arrived at London Gatwick for routine connection. Got through customs to find out they’re evacuating the entire airport,” one passenger said.

“Even people through security are being taken outside. Trains shut down,” another passenger added, who said “thousands” of people were forced to leave.

Another passenger said people near the gates were being told to stay there and not go back to the departure lounge.

People outside the airport were handed blankets and water, passengers told Sky News.

The airport said its North Terminal was still operating normally.

Gatwick Express said its trains did not call at Gatwick Airport during the police response, but the airport said trains would start calling there again once the terminal was fully reopened.

More than 600 flights were due to take off or land at Gatwick on Friday, amounting to more than 121,000 passenger seats, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium.

UK

Starmer says UK will ‘set out a path’ to raise defence spending to 2.5%

Published

6 hours ago

November 23, 2024

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Starmer says UK will 'set out a path' to raise defence spending to 2.5%

The UK will “set out a path” to lift defence spending to 2.5% of national income in the spring, the prime minister has said, finally offering a timeframe for an announcement on the long-awaited hike after mounting criticism.

Sir Keir Starmer gave the date during a phone call with Mark Rutte, the secretary general of NATO, in the wake of threats by Moscow to target UK and US military facilities following a decision by London and Washington to let Ukraine fire their missiles inside Russia.

There was no clarity though on when the 2.5% level will be achieved. The UK says it currently spends around 2.3% of GDP on defence.

Ukraine war latest: Follow live updates

A spokeswoman for Downing Street said that the two men “began by discussing the situation in Ukraine and reiterated the importance of putting the country in the strongest possible position going into the winter”.

They also talked about the deployment of thousands of North Korean soldiers to fight alongside Russia.

“The prime minister underscored the need for all NATO countries to step up in support of our collective defence and updated on the government’s progress on the strategic defence review,” the spokeswoman said.

“His government would set out the path to 2.5% in the spring.”

The defence review will also be published in the spring.

While a date for an announcement on 2.5% will be welcomed by the Ministry of Defence, analysts have long warned that such an increase is still well below the amount that is needed to rebuild the armed forces after decades of decline to meet growing global threats from Russia, an increasingly assertive China, North Korea and Iran.

They say the UK needs to be aiming to hit at least 3% – probably higher.

With Donald Trump returning to the White House, there will be significantly more pressure on the UK and other European NATO allies to accelerate increases in defence spending.