Boris Johnson tonight revealed how Vladimir Putin has made more than 30 threats of nuclear war since his invasion of Ukraine – as the Prime Minister promised to boost defense spending to counter Russia’s aggression.
At a press conference ending the NATO summit in Madrid, the prime minister announced that the United Kingdom would spend 2.5 per cent of GDP on defense by the end of the decade.
Mr Johnson has insisted that budgets in the coming years will rise well above the alliance’s two per cent target as the government ‘invests for the long term’ in response to Russia’s threat.
The prime minister later described the extent of ‘saber rattling’ by Mr. Putin revealed, but warned that the West would be dragged into the Russian president’s portrayal of a ‘Russia versus NATO’ conflict.
Britain’s former ambassador to the United States, Sir Kim Darroch, warned this week that NATO must be ready for a nuclear attack by Russia.
On the question of how many nuclear threats there have been since the beginning of the Ukraine war of Mr. Putin was, the prime minister told LBC Radio: ‘Well, there’s an analysis I think was done recently by someone, a brainstorm.
“They’re looking at about 35 reports, or maybe it’s a little more now, of that issue.”
But, when he spoke to the station’s Nick Ferrari at Breakfast show, Mr. Johnson emphasized that it was “very, very important that we do not allow ourselves to be swayed by this kind of saber, because fundamentally, what Putin is trying to do is to re-frame it”.
“It’s about Russia versus NATO. It’s about, you know, a stand-off of that kind, ‘he added.
“It’s not. It is about his attack on a completely innocent country, with conventional weapons, with artillery, bombing with planes, shells and so on.
“And it’s about the Ukrainians’ right to protect themselves. That’s what it’s about. ‘
At a press conference ending the NATO summit in Madrid, Boris Johnson insisted that defense budgets would rise well above the alliance’s target of 2 percent in the coming years.
The Prime Minister has revealed how Vladimir Putin has made more than 30 threats of nuclear war since his invasion of Ukraine
The prime minister’s proposed increase in defense spending, to 2.5 per cent of GDP, would equate to around £ 10bn a year extra in today’s prices by 2030 – with experts warning that it could mean taxes will have to rise further to to fulfill the commitment.
Based on the Office of Budget’s forecasts for the size of the economy, there will be £ 55.1 billion in additional spending over the rest of the decade.
Mr. Johnson, however, still had questions about why the size of the military was being cut, arguing that the priority was ‘to have armed services that are brilliantly equipped’.
The prime minister said: ‘For the long term, we need to invest in essential capabilities such as future combat air, while at the same time adapting to a more dangerous and competitive world.
“The logical conclusion of the investments we intend to make, these decisions, is that by the end of the decade we will have reached 2.5 percent of GDP on defense.”
Mr Johnson described the NATO alliance as ‘united’ and in ‘robust health’ as the Madrid summit concluded.
He said at a press conference: ‘The NATO alliance is clearly in strong health and is getting stronger, with new members and a new goal.
‘We can see that our work has been cut out …
“If history is any guideline, then I believe this great alliance will be successful again.”
Despite the spending commitment, Mr Johnson is on the verge of abandoning a Tory manifesto promise.
A senior government source acknowledged that the 2019 promise to increase budgets by 0.5 percentage points above inflation may have to be abandoned.
The source pointed out that the state finances have been hurt by Covid and inflation will reach 11 percent this year.
“The intention is always to meet manifesto obligations, but it was made before £ 400 billion was spent to deal with a global pandemic that no one could possibly have foreseen,” the source said.
Earlier this week, IFS chief Paul Johnson released a graph underlining how more money has been found for health budgets by reducing military spending since the 1950s.
The Prime Minister pictured today at the NATO summit in Madrid, while it came to a conclusion
Defense Minister Ben Wallace has raised demands for higher military spending to counter Russia’s threat.
He warned at a RUSI think tank that defense could no longer exist on a ‘diet of smoke and mirrors’, pointing out that ministers had behaved like ‘corporate poachers’ for decades while donating money to the NHS and diverted other services.
Senior Tory MP Tobias Ellwood said it was “too little, too late” to increase spending to 2.5 percent of GDP by the end of the decade.
The chairman of the Commons Defense Committee tweeted: ‘This is NOT the time to cut the army by 10,000.
“And to move to 2.5% defense spending by 2030 is too little, too late.”
The PM’s full interview will be broadcast tomorrow at 07:00 on LBC’s Nick Ferrari at Breakfast