John Baron MP says Government must raise defence spending given Russian threat

MP says measures are a short-term fix

Following the nerve agent attack in Salisbury, the Prime Minister gave a further Statement in the House of Commons this afternoon during which she set out the Government’s response to the Salisbury nerve agent attack.

In the Chamber, John asked,

“When it comes to the long term, given the actions of the Russian state under President Putin, has the time not now come for a fundamental reassessment of the level of our defence spending, preferably in collaboration with our allies, but alone if not?”

The Prime Minister responded that Britain is one of the few NATO countries to spend at least 2% of GDP on defence, and that parts of the UK’s response will not be by conventional means.

Afterwards, John said,

“The Prime Minister’s robust response to Russia’s use of a chemical weapon in our country is absolutely right. However, these measures are a short-term fix – raising the defence budget would show that we take our security seriously, are prepared to stand up for our interests, and would allow us greater flexibility when considering options.”