Top Tories publish article urging more defence cash in blow to Sunak's authority
Two sitting Tory ministers have broken ranks to call on Jeremy Hunt to immediately increase defence spending, in a blow to Rishi Sunak’s authority.
Ministers are supposed to present a united front on government policy, refraining from writing or speaking in a way that contradicts government policy.
In the Budget, Mr Hunt made a vague pledge to increase defence spending to 2.5% of national income "as soon as economic conditions allow". It stands at just over 2% now.
But Security Minister Tom Tugendhat and Foreign Office Minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan signed a joint article - entitled “Is 2% enough?” - and posted on social network LinkedIn, urging the PM and Chancellor to “lead the way” and increase spending “now.”
The article was not cleared by Downing Street before publication, a government spokesperson confirmed.
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It’s the third time in recent months that ministers have apparently “freelanced” - making public statements or publishing articles without clearing them first.
In November, former Home Secretary Suella Braverman published an article in the Times accusing the police of being biased towards left-wing protesters - which was not signed off by Mr Sunak.
And in January her successor, David Cameron, didn’t get approval for remarks to Arab ambassadors, in which he said “we should be starting to set out what a Palestinian state would look like.”
Number 10 claimed Mr Tugendhat and Ms Trevelyan’s 1,123 word article was a “social media post”, which are not routinely reviewed by Number 10.
"It's clear to us that the UK needs to lead the way in increasing our own domestic defence and security spending commitments to 2.5% and beyond," the two ministers wrote.
"Former defence secretary Ben Wallace and prime minister Boris Johnson made inroads into growing our defence budgets, which had been shrinking in real terms for years. But that only filled the hole. Now we need growth."
The article concludes: “None of this is wasted cash. It’s investment in our own economy. And it protects our future economic security.
“The sad truth is that the world is no longer benign. Protecting ourselves requires investment. And effective investment means that our industrial complex must grow and strengthen at much greater pace than at present.
“We cannot turn on the complex platforms and weapons which ensure military advantage overnight. We must start that growth now, invest at pace to support our allies and stay ahead of our adversaries.”
A No10 spokesperson said the views expressed in the article were not at odds with government policy.
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“It’s govt policy to raise spending to 2.5% as soon as possible and it’s a social media post,” they said. “Defence spending is growing - by 0.5% in real terms each year.”
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