Ministers call for ‘much greater pace’ of UK defence investment

Frontbenchers use social media to put pressure on PM after Commons report criticises military funding plans

Two serving ministers have called for a “much greater pace” of investment in defence spending, putting pressure on Rishi Sunak one day after the Commons’ spending watchdog warned that the Ministry of Defence had no credible plan to fund the military capabilities the government wants.

The Foreign Office minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan and Home Office minister Tom Tugendhat said in a post on LinkedIn that the UK needs to “lead the way” by increasing defence and security spending to at least 2.5% of gross domestic product, a measure of the size of the economy.