ARMED Forces Minister Luke Pollard has denied that the government has backtracked on its pledges to increase defence spending.

Asked if the government has watered down its promises, he told GB News: “Absolutely not. This Labour government is increasing defence spending.

“We have £5 billion extra in the defence budget this year, and thanks to the historic increase announced by the Prime Minister, by April 2027 we’ll be spending 2.5% of our GDP on defence, a figure not met since Labour was last in power in 2010 and not met by any one of the last 14 years under the Tories.

“And then the ambition to spend 3% in the next parliament, that is the commitment that was given by the Prime Minister in February.

“It is the reason why today, in the defence review, we’re announcing what we’re spending that historic uplift on defence, on new kit and equipment to keep our fighting forces at the cutting edge, new support for those people who serve, including sorting out the scandal of defence housing, the appalling state that we have some of our armed forces living in and making sure that defence can be an engine for growth, with that increased defence spending being directed at British companies to create new jobs nationwide.”

He added: “2.5% isn’t enough. That’s why we have this ambition to increase it to 3% in the next parliament. But you’re right that there are new threats facing the UK.

“We live in more dangerous times, not just new conventional threats, but new nuclear threats as well and so many of those grey zone activities. In the last two years, the UK Armed Forces have had 90,000 cyber attacks on them by foreign states. That’s precisely why you heard John Healey then talk about investing in a new Cyber Command.

“The defence review today sets out not just that investment in the conventional forces, the tanks, the airplanes, the frigates and destroyers that we are so used to seeing, but in the new capabilities, the directed energy weapons that will be fitted to some of our Royal Navy destroyers to shoot down missiles and drones attacking them, to make sure that we have the cyber defences that are necessary for keeping not just our armed forces safe, but our whole of society, the civil resilience of our entire economy safe.

“Now these are really big challenges, and it is precisely because we are facing those big challenges that the Prime Minister has cut international aid spending, moved it to defence, and we’re directing that increased spending at British defence industries, creating jobs in every part of the country.”