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Rishi Sunak warns of ‘growing threats’ as he announces tens of billions of pounds in extra defence funding
Rishi Sunak is to increase UK defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2030 as he warns European allies that the continent is at a “turning point” in the face of the growing threats from Russia, Iran and China.
Speaking alongside NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, the UK prime minister said he planned to steadily increase defence spending by the end of the decade, rising to 2.4% a year until 2027/28 – then hitting 2.5% by 2030/31.
Funding will rise from £64.6bn in 2024 to £78.2bn in 2028, and then jump to £87bn in 2030/31.
The government said the commitment amounted to an additional £75bn in funding over the next six years and would see the UK remain “by far the second largest defence spender in NATO after the US”.
Politics latest: PM gives news conference after defence spending pledge
Making the announcement on a visit to Poland, Mr Sunak said the additional funding represented the “biggest strengthening of our national defence in a generation to meet the challenge of an increasingly dangerous world”.
He revealed a further £10bn would be spent over the next decade on munitions production and modernisation of the armed forces, and that at least 5% of the defence budget would be committed to research and development.
The prime minister said: “An axis of autocratic states like Russia, Iran and China are increasingly working together to undermine democracies and reshape the world order.
“They are also investing heavily in their own militaries and in cyber capabilities and in low-cost technology, like the Shahed attack drones Iran fired towards Israel last weekend.”
He added that this posed a “direct threat to the lives and livelihoods of people in the UK, as well as across Europe and the wider world”, as he spoke of the need to take “further action now to deter these growing threats”.
Asked by Sky News whether the UK had entered a “pre-war era”, the prime minister said: “We have to recognise that the world… is a more dangerous place”.
But he said the threats from the likes of Russia were “nothing new” – they just came at a new “pace and intensity”, adding: “That’s why it’s important that we make this investment and we make this investment now”.
However, Mr Sunak said the UK was approaching them “from a position of strength and confidence”.
Pointing to Ukraine, he said recent gains by the Russians were equivalent to taking over Basildon and Eastbourne, adding: “The allies are united, defence spending is growing across Europe and Nato has two new members.
“If you take a step back, you know, Russia is not in any way succeeding.”
The prime minister added: “We have been making the right investments. Nato is strong. Our alliance is strong. People are doing the right thing. And as you know… Russia has not succeeded.
“But we can’t be complacent. And that’s why [we are making] the announcement today.”
Pic: Ben Birchall/PA
Today’s commitment comes after growing pressure on the prime minister to increase defence spending in the face of increasing threats from hostile states.
Last month, two serving ministers – Anne-Marie Trevelyan and Tom Tugendhat – publicly urged the government to invest at a “much greater pace”.
The House of Commons’ spending watchdog, the Public Accounts Committee, also warned the gap between the Ministry of Defence’s budget and the cost of the UK’s desired military capabilities had risen by £16.9bn – the largest deficit ever – despite a promised injection of more than £46bn over the next decade.
The increase in defence spending will play well to Mr Sunak’s base in the Conservative Party and comes fresh from his landmark Rwanda legislation being passed, with the prime minister emphatic that a regular rhythm of flights will be taking off from July.
Both announcements are part of a publicity blitz for the embattled leader as he looks to get on the front foot ahead of next week’s local elections, aware that a disastrous night could put him not just back on to his heels, but into free fall.
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But Labour said the Conservatives had “shown time and time again that they cannot be trusted on defence”.
Shadow defence minister John Healey said his party wanted to see “a fully funded plan to reach 2.5%, so would “examine the detail of the announcement closely.
However, he added: “The British public will judge ministers by what they do not what they say.
“Since 2010, the Conservatives have wasted more than £15bn mismanaging defence procurement, shrunk the army to its smallest size since Napoleon, missed their recruitment targets every year, and allowed morale to fall to record lows.
“Labour will conduct a strategic defence and security review in the first year in government to get to grips with the threats we face, the state of our armed forces, and the resources required.”
Politics
UN urges UK to reconsider Rwanda plan – as minister admits legal challenges are ‘inevitable’
Legal challenges to Rishi Sunak’s Rwanda bill are “inevitable”, the illegal migration minister has admitted, as human rights organisations called on the government not to put the scheme into force.
Michael Tomlinson said the government wanted to ensure flights get off the ground “as soon as possible” but that there would undoubtedly be challenges to the legislation, which passed around midnight last night after months of parliamentary ping pong.
“There will be challenges, but we will meet them, we will overcome them,” he told Kay Burley on Breakfast.
His words come as five migrants died during an attempt to cross the Channel on Tuesday morning.
Mr Sunak believes the Rwanda bill – which seeks to deport asylum seekers arriving in the UK via small boats to the African nation – will act as a deterrent for those who are considering making the dangerous Channel crossing.
Mr Tomlinson declined to give extensive details on the Rwanda flights, including which commercial airline and airport will be used, saying: “There are those who are determined to stop this, and if I go into detail such as that with you, then that will help those who are wanting to stop this.”
Politics Hub: Latest reaction after Rwanda bill passes Commons
Following the bill’s passage, the United Nations and the Council of Europe urged ministers to reconsider the scheme.
Filippo Grandi, the UN high commissioner for refugees said the bill, which is likely to receive Royal Assent and pass into law this week, marked a “further step away from the UK’s long tradition of providing refuge to those in need, in breach of the Refugee Convention”.
“Protecting refugees requires all countries – not just those neighbouring crisis zones – to uphold their obligations,” he said.
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Rwanda bill to become law
“This arrangement seeks to shift responsibility for refugee protection, undermining international cooperation and setting a worrying global precedent.”
Volker Turk, the UN high commissioner for human rights, criticised the bill for “reducing the UK’s courts’ ability to scrutinise removal decisions, restricting access to legal remedies in the UK and limiting the scope of domestic and international human rights protections for a specific group of people”.
The Council of Europe joined the UN in urging the government not to enact the scheme, with human rights commissioner Michael O’Flaherty arguing the UK “should refrain from removing people under the Rwanda policy and reverse the bill’s effective infringement of judicial independence”.
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Rwanda plan an ‘expensive gimmick’
The Rwanda bill will become law this week after the House of Lords, which had repeatedly expressed its displeasure with the bill, decided it would no longer oppose it following hours of wrangling last night in a bid to secure changes.
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Rwandan government spokesperson Yolande Makolo said the country was “pleased” the legislation has passed.
She said the bill’s passage “doesn’t alter what we have always known to be true” – which is that Rwanda has “worked hard over the last 30 years to make Rwanda a safe and secure country for Rwandans and non-Rwandans alike”.
Labour’s shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper branded the scheme an “expensive gimmick” that will affect “less than 1% of asylum seekers” arriving in Britain.
Politics
Met Police chief defends officer who called campaigner ‘openly Jewish’ – as minister calls incident ‘unacceptable’
People should not be prevented from going about their day-to-day lives, a government minister has told Sky News, following a row over the police handling of a pro-Palestinian demonstration.
Footage showed a Metropolitan Police officer preventing campaigner Gideon Falter, the chief executive of the Campaign Against Antisemitism, from crossing a road near the march in London.
The officer said Mr Falter, who was wearing a kippah skull cap, was “openly Jewish” and that he was “worried about the reaction” to his presence at the demonstration.
Mr Falter has since called on Met Police chief Sir Mark Rowley to resign and accused the force of “victim-blaming” following the encounter.
Extended footage of the incident shows the officer accused Mr Falter of wanting to walk against the flow of the march and of being “disingenuous” in his claim he wanted to simply cross the road.
He offers the campaigner safe passage at a different location which is declined. As the tension rises and the officer raises his voice Mr Falter repeatedly tries to push past him.
Sir Mark has defended the actions of his officer during the incident on 13 April, saying they were “professional”, while admitting some of the words used during the exchange were “clumsy and offensive”.
Sir Mark Rowley has faced calls to resign over the row. Pic: PA
Asked about the row, illegal migration minister Michael Tomlinson said he thought police had a “difficult job” at the protests but the incident was “unacceptable”.
He told Sky News’s Kay Burley: “I don’t think anyone of faith, whether you’re Jewish, whether you’re a Muslim, whether you’re a Christian, should be prevented from going about their day-to-day lives.”
Mr Falter has since said he will turn up at the next pro-Palestinian march and encouraged other Jews and allies to join him.
Asked whether police should stop him, Mr Tomlinson said: “I don’t want to see people stopped from going about their day-to-day lives in London.”
Michael Tomlinson, the UK’s illegal migration minister, speaks to Sky News
Rowley defends officer in protest row
Sir Mark defended the actions of his officer, who he said would not be sanctioned and would be allowed to police protests again.
In an interview with The Guardian newspaper, he said: “The sergeant at the scene clearly assessed that there was a risk of confrontation and was trying to help Mr Falter find a different route.
“I completely understand why the sergeant made this assessment. A couple of turns of phrase were clumsy and offensive… and we’ve apologised for that.
“The wider actions and intent of the officer were professional and in the best tradition of British police trying to prevent disorder.”
The Met Police commissioner said the officer was correct to stop Mr Falter after fearing there was danger of violence or disorder if direct contact with the pro-Palestinian marchers was made.
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‘Openly Jewish’ campaigner speaks to Sky News
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Met chief meets with home secretary
Sir Mark made the comments ahead of a meeting with Home Secretary James Cleverly on Monday.
After the meeting, Mr Cleverly said: “Jewish people will always have the right to be able to go about their daily lives safely and freely, in London and across the UK.
“Sir Mark has reassured me he will make this clear to all sections of the community as a matter of urgency. The Met’s focus now is rightly on reassurance, learning from what happened, and ensuring that Jewish people are safe and feel safe in London. I support them in that critical endeavour.”
Sir Mark also met with London’s mayor Sadiq Khan, who said he had “full confidence” in the commissioner – as well as with Jewish community groups.
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Following the meeting, the Community Security Trust said the Met representatives repeated their apologies and agreed to “consult more closely” with the Jewish community “to ensure greater cultural sensitivity in future communications”.
The Met Police has apologised twice over the incident, issuing one initial statement and then saying sorry for its first apology, which had suggested opponents of pro-Palestinian marches “must know that their presence is provocative”.
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