British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is under pressure from senior Cabinet ministers and military chiefs to boost defence spending in response to the renewed threat posed by Russia following the invasion of Ukraine.
The prime minister, who will call on allies to invest more to modernise European defence at the NATO summit in Madrid, has faced calls to further increase the UK’s own defence expenditure, according to a statement on June 29 from 10 Downing Street.
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said on June 28 that the UK needs to boost its investment in defence before it is too late.
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace arrives to attend the weekly Cabinet meeting at Downing Street on June 7, 2022. (Carl Court/Getty Images)
In a speech at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), he said the £24 billion ($29 billion) increase announced in the 2020 spending review has been a “strong start,” but more action is needed to reverse the cuts made by successive governments—both Conservative and Labour—following the Cold War to cash in on the so-called “peace dividend.”…