Jeremy Hunt says welfare cuts would let Starmer commit to 3% defence spend now

Former chancellor Jeremy Hunt has said cuts to adult welfare would allow Sir Keir Starmer to commit to increasing defence spending to more than 3% of GDP this week.

Mr Hunt, who was chancellor until the election was called in July last year, said the UK raising defence spending to match the US would secure the future of Ukraine and of Nato.

US President Donald Trump has been demanding Europe do more to pay for and provide for its own security, while engaging in talks with Russia that could broker peace in Ukraine.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has said she is “absolutely committed” to spending 2.5% of GDP on defence, and an increase in spending in line with what Labour promised in its manifesto will be done “in the proper way”.

On the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Tory Mr Hunt told MPs: “If the Government came forward with plans to reduce the number of adult welfare recipients just to 2019 levels that would save ?40 billion a year.

“It would mean that on Thursday, (Foreign Secretary David Lammy) and the Prime Minister could say to President Trump that we were increasing defence spending to 3% of GDP, or even 3.4% of GDP, as the United States itself does.

“That would not just secure the future of Ukraine, it would also secure the future of Nato, which is one of the most important challenges facing the Government.”

Mr Lammy replied: “I recognise that (Mr Hunt) brings tremendous experience to these matters, and he’s put those views on the record and in the detailed conversations that of course go on across Government, I’m sure that the Chancellor of the Exchequer will be looking very closely at them.”

Shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti Patel also suggested repurposing some of the UK’s aid spending to boost national defence and security.

After she pressed for defence spending to be increased to 2.5% of GDP, Dame Priti added: “Given the threats our nation faces, I would urge the Government and the Foreign Secretary … to review and repurpose some of the 0.5% currently spent on ODA (official development assistance) to further our national defence, safety and security.”

The UK currently spends around 2.3% of GDP on defence – ?53.9 billion in the 2023/24 financial year – but the Government has committed to setting out a “pathway” to 2.5%.

In a press conference ahead of his inauguration in January, Mr Trump called on Nato allies to spend 5% of their GDP on defence.

Conservative MP for New Forest East Sir Julian Lewis said he feels “disgust at the spectacle of the leader of the free world showering praise and admiration” on Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Tory former home secretary James Cleverly also called for increased defence spending and said the “environment in which we operate has changed fundamentally, and therefore our response must change fundamentally”.

He added: “We have to send a message to our friends and foes alike that we take defence seriously and I would urge (Mr Lammy) to remember the commitments we made to the Ukrainian people when this full-scale invasion took place, our support to them was not contingent on the support of others, it was absolute.

“And we should make good on that commitment, because we said things which encouraged the Ukrainians to put their sons and daughters in harm’s way.

“They have stood up their end of the bargain, we should stand up ours.”

Mr Lammy said the UK had been Ukraine’s “foremost friend” and would continue to be.

He said: “We understand here in Europe that, yes, we want this war to end, but we want an enduring peace, and we’ve got a long memory in relation to the Soviet Union and Tsarist history, and that guides us on how we secure that peace.”

Labour MP Jonathan Hinder (Pendle and Clitheroe) said the UK must “get real on defence” if it wants to stop Mr Putin and must “urgently re-arm well beyond the existing 2.5%” spending target.

Conservative former minister Andrew Murrison said the “2.5% of GDP ship has now sailed and that we and our allies have to find the resources to spend 3% within a recognisable timeframe”.

Liberal Democrat MP Andrew George (St Ives) labelled Mr Trump “Putin’s appeaser in the White House”, to which Mr Lammy replied that he supported the US president’s “desire for bringing this horrendous war to an end”.

In his statement to the Commons, Mr Lammy earlier said the UK “will listen” if Russia is serious about a lasting peace that respects Ukraine’s sovereignty and independence.

Mr Lammy also praised the “defiant Blitz spirit” of Ukraine and accused Russia of operating “foreign policy by lies” over the decades, telling MPs: “We must respond by being true to ourselves and provide the support Ukraine needs to stay strong because that it what is needed to secure a lasting peace and to shape our collective security so that Putin never invades again.”

Mr Lammy went on to say Ukraine needs its allies in Europe and the United States “working together to achieve peace through strength”.

He later said: “There have been 17 British nationals who have served as members of the armed forces of Ukraine who have been killed in action and we remember them on this day.”