Overview
- Health secretary Wes Streeting told LBC on Thursday that defence money “has to come from somewhere” and said he wants to reduce the welfare budget.
- The Treasury later on Thursday rejected a Spectator report that Rachel Reeves linked extra MoD cash to gender parity, with a source calling the claim false.
- Defence leaders say the MoD faces a roughly £28bn gap over four years, while reports say the chancellor has offered about £10bn and asked for £3.5bn of savings this year.
- The Defence Investment Plan, a 10-year roadmap for what the UK buys and builds, remains unpublished and suppliers say the delay is stalling orders and hiring.
- Speaking in Washington on Thursday, Reeves said she would prefer not to raise taxes again for defence, and early Saturday Sir John Major urged higher spending, calling failure to fund defence a “betrayal.”