TORY PM Rishi Sunak announced yesterday that he is putting the UK defence industry ‘on a war footing’.
Standing alongside NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg in the Polish capital Warsaw, Sunak said in future the UK will have to spend a massive 2.5% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on the military.
Sunak and Stoltenberg were holding a joint press conference in front of UK journalists who had been flown out to Poland that morning, alongside an audience of British Armed Services Personnel
‘Today is a landmark moment,’ Sunak announced. ‘We’re living in a more dangerous time than any since the end of the Cold War, consequently, we are increasing our defence spending and that’s why we are making this investment.
‘What happened in Ukraine led to everyone in the UK’s energy bills to quadruple,’ he claimed.
‘We didn’t choose this moment, Putin forced it upon us,’ Sunak said, before adding absurdly: ‘There is nothing more ethical than defending our way of life.’
He continued: ‘Look at Ukraine. Many aspects are similar to World Wars One and Two. But only if Putin fails will he and other adversaries be deterred.
‘That is why we will be sending Ukraine another half a billion pounds, making it a total of £3 billion this year.
‘We will move away from this stop-start model of funding Ukraine. It shows that Ukraine is not alone and that Ukraine will never be alone.
‘I am announcing the biggest strengthening of our national defence in a generation, guaranteeing our position as the second largest defence power in NATO after the US.
‘All across Europe countries like Poland, Germany, Norway and the Baltic nations are stepping up to take greater responsibility for our own security.
‘I’m confident that whether in months or years others will follow too and that this turning point in European security, this 2.5%, becomes the new benchmark for European partners to reach and that allied defence spending will increase by over £140 billion.’
Sunak went on: ‘To conclude, we did not choose this moment, but it falls to us to meet it. In a world of increasing threat, we must show our enemies that we are resolute and determined, that their attempts to destabilise our world by force will fail, that with our friends and allies we will be at the forefront of defence of the free democratic world and that under my leadership the United Kingdom will always stand up for our interests, deter our enemies and defend our values.’
