Ex-military chiefs urge political parties to commit to 2.5% defence spending amid ‘gravest threats since Cold War’

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A group of former defence and military chiefs and senior MPs has urged all political parties to commit in their election manifestos to increasing defence spending to at least 2.5% of GDP, rising to 3% by the end of the decade. They warned that without such investment "British interests could suffer defeat", saying the UK faces its "gravest threats since the Cold War", including from Russia, China and Iran. "We therefore urge all political parties to commit in their manifestos this year to invest in real terms at least 2.5% of GDP on defence in each year of the next...