Defence Secretary John Healey challenged to increase department spending to 2.5%

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Defence Secretary John Healey has been challenged to press the Prime Minister to increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP if the UK’s threat levels are found to have risen. “This is on top of £3 billion each year for Ukraine.” The first duty of any government and this Government is to defend the country and keep our citizens safe John Healey He added: “Everyone agrees that defence spending must increase to match and deal with the threats that we face, and one of our very first acts as a Government was to launch the Strategic Defence Review, which is working at pace to look at the threats we face, the capabilities we need and the resources we have available. “So given that, and the threat from Russia, Iran and this totalitarian state axis, could he tell me now, if Lord Robertson comes back and spells out exactly what I believe he will do – which is the biggest threat we face since the Cold War – will he tell the Prime Minister – I say not ‘ask’ but ‘tell’ the Prime Minister: number one responsibility, defence of the realm, 2.5% now?” Mr Healey replied: “The Prime Minister does not need me to tell him that the duty and the first duty of any government and this Government is to defend the country and keep our citizens safe. “He will not need any persuading of the arguments and the assessments of the threats and some of the capability recommendations that that Strategic Defence Review, externally led by Lord Robertson, is likely to produce.” Labour MP Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi, the chairman of the Defence Committee, said: “We need clarity, we need a timetable, so that not only our allies know where we are heading, but also those within our defence community.” Mr Healey replied: “It is increasing, it’s increasing with this Government, it increased in the first Budget of this new Government by nearly £3 billion for next year.” With a former chief of the general staff warning that this country might be directly at war within the lifetime of this parliament Sir Bernard Jenkin Conservative MP Sir Bernard Jenkin said: “Can I encourage that we start telling the truth, that we’re going to have to spend far more than 2.5% of GDP on defence within quite a short number of years?