Cabinet ministers asked to look for cuts to fund UK defence spending increase
Summary
UK government ministers are being asked to find money in their budgets to increase defence spending after the former defence secretary, John Healey, resigned due to dissatisfaction with the planned defence budget. The new defence secretary, Dan Jarvis, has until a NATO summit in two weeks to propose a plan with higher investment.Key Facts
- John Healey resigned as UK defence secretary over low defence spending plans.
- The UK government plans to increase defence spending but currently offers only a small rise of about £2 billion by 2030.
- Defence spending goal is to reach 2.68% of GDP by 2030, below a 3% target expected after the next election.
- Cabinet ministers, including culture secretary Lisa Nandy, are discussing where to find extra funds within their departments.
- Dan Jarvis replaced Healey as defence secretary and is working on a new defence investment plan.
- Some areas, like the BBC, are protected from budget cuts to maintain national resilience against false information.
- Another minister, Al Carns, also resigned, saying the budget is inadequate to deal with modern security threats.
- The UK government acknowledges the need to boost defence but faces internal disagreements on funding priorities.
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