Sunak vows to boost UK defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2030

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak promised an extra £75 billion in defence spending over the next six years to put the UK arms industry on a “war footing” in the face of threats from an “axis of authoritarian states” including Russia and China.

He said the UK will spend 2.5% of gross domestic product (GDP) on defence by 2030 because the world was “the most dangerous it has been since the end of the Cold War”.

This re-commits to a target set by former prime minister in 2022 and firms up Mr Sunak’s own stance on the defence budget.