Nia Griffith MP, Labour’s Shadow Defence Secretary, responding to the
International Institute for Strategic Studies’ Military Balance report, said:
“This report exposes the Government’s complete and shocking
failure to maintain its commitment on defence spending to our Armed Forces and
to the country.
“Just weeks after the Prime Minister was lecturing our allies
about increasing spending to meet the 2 percent NATO commitment, it is now
clear that her Government is unwilling to commit the necessary resources to our
nation’s defences.
“As the Defence Select Committee has shown, the MoD was already
barely scrapping over the 2 percent mark and had changed its accounting methods
to give the illusion of keeping the commitment. To be spending less than 2
percent of GDP on defence is utterly unacceptable, particularly in this time of
immense global uncertainty.
“Labour is committed to spending at least 2 percent of our GDP
on defence spending, as we consistently did when in government.”
ENDS
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