PMQs live: Starmer to be grilled over defence spending ahead of US visit for crunch Trump talks – UK Times

Rachel Reeves has promised to not use borrowing to fund day-to-day spending, and has also ruled out another autumn-like tax-hiking Budget. And the pledges appear to have forced the PM’s hand into funding the increase by dipping into Britain’s foreign aid budget – quickly condemned by Labour MPs and grandees including David Miliband.

Mr Miliband, who is now the president of the International Rescue Committee, said the cut to aid funding was a “blow to Britain’s proud reputation as a global humanitarian and development leader” and warned the global consequences would be “far reaching and devastating”. Hinting that the government was considering tax cuts to fund the pledge, but eventually chose the aid cut.

Ms Reeves told ITV last week: “Recognising the priority of defence spending in the world that we live in today means that we will have to make difficult choices so that we can spend that money that is needed to keep our country safe.”

Sir Keir insisted on Tuesday it was “not a decision I wanted to make” as he held a Downing Street press conference setting out the plans.

The Prime Minister, who previously backed calls to increase the aid budget, also told reporters: “It is important that I am clear that we will continue our support in areas such as Gaza, Sudan, Ukraine of course. That’s the context in which we’ve made this decision.”

He later added: “There is no driver of migration and poverty like conflict. That is why ensuring that by taking strong action now to deter tyrants like Putin we have to take decisions we’ve made today.

“Not a decision I wanted to take, a decision that was necessary for the protection of our country.”

ActionAid, a charity that works with women and girls living in poverty, described Sir Keir’s decision to slash the aid budget as “reckless” and said it is “profoundly shocked and disappointed” by the Government’s decision.

Save the Children UK similarly said it is “stunned” by the move, labelling it “a betrayal of the world’s most vulnerable children and the UK’s national interest”.

Furious Labour MPs told The Independent the two-child limit was a “critical issue” for the government to address, branding it the biggest driver of rising child poverty.

Read the full article here:

There are no plans to review the current policy on working from home for civil servants in response to the urgency of major changes announced by the Prime Minister, the head of the civil service has confirmed.

Cabinet Secretary Sir Chris Wormald, who was appointed by Sir Keir Starmer to “rewire” the way the British state works, told MPs that department leaders should always be considering appropriate ways of working that suit specific circumstances.

But during an appearance before the Commons Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee, Sir Chris said the existing general rule that civil servants should spend a minimum of three days a week in the office will remain.

Sir Keir Starmer has slashed the aid budget to fund a dramatic increase in defence spending in response to “tyrant” Vladimir Putin and uncertainty over US President Donald Trump’s commitment to European security.

Germany’s likely next chancellor, Friedrich Merz, has stirred debate by calling for Europe to achieve “independence” from the United States and questioning whether Nato can survive.

Amid America’s controversial negotiations with Russia on bringing Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine to an end, Merz has distanced himself from Trump’s rhetoric and advocated for stronger European unity.

Join The Independent’s debate here:

Paul Johnson, the director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, said on Tuesday that ministers were playing “silly games with numbers” and had provided “totally inconsistent figures” measured against different benchmarks.

The think tank’s associate director, Ben Zaranko, had earlier suggested the increase in spending would amount to around £6 billion, rather than the £13.4 billion the PM had indicated.

Mr Zaranko said: “As a minor note to what is a major announcement, the Prime Minister followed in the steps of the last government by announcing a misleadingly large figure for the ‘extra’ defence spending this announcement entails.

“An extra 0.2 per cent of GDP is around £6 billion, and this is the size of the cut to the aid budget. Yet he trumpeted a £13 billion increase in defence spending.

“It’s hard to be certain without more detail from the Treasury, but this figure only seems to make sense if one thinks the defence budget would otherwise have been frozen in cash terms.”

The Conservatives have also said the figures “don’t seem to be completely right”.

The prime minister outlined plans for Britain to spend 2.5 per cent of its GDP on defence by 2027, up from 2.3 per cent currently, which he said amounted to a £13.4 billion annual uplift.

Read the full breakdown from Archie Mitchell here:

The Prime Minister revealed on Tuesday that he will host European leaders over the weekend to discuss future defence.

“I am hosting a number of countries at the weekend for us to continue to discuss how we go forward together as allies in light of the situation that we face,” he said.

The gathering is likely to feature a similar group who appeared at a recent summit convened in Paris, including leaders from Germany, Spain, Italy, France, the Netherlands and the EU Commission.

Sir Keir spoke with Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday following the French President’s visit to Washington DC.

The two leaders both “reiterated that Ukraine must be at the heart of any negotiations” during the phone call, according to Downing Street.

olicies can drift and diplomacy meander. As great powers try to resolve wars and conflicts, obfuscation and sleight of hand are inevitable and sometimes essential. But when a great power changes sides in the halls of the United Nations, it’s not a play – but a betrayal of their allies.

The conclusion is that, under the presidency of Donald Trump, the US cannot be considered an ally of other Western democracies and must now be treated as a potential foe.

In the world of espionage, he has been seen as a liability since he was last elected president in 2016.

Read the full analysis from our world affairs editor Sam Kiley here:

Defence secretary John Healey has suggested the real-terms increase in defence spending is “something over £6 billion”, after Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer suggested it would mean spending £13.4 billion every year.

Speaking to BBC Breakfast, Mr Healey was asked about criticism of the figures and said “the definition of defence numbers can be done in different ways”.

He explained: “You can take it as a percentage of GDP, you can take it as cash terms.

“What Keir Starmer was talking about yesterday was the increase in hard cash that will be spent on defence in two years’ time compared to what’s being spent today.”

Pushed on whether the £13.4 billion figure would be correct if the assumption was that the Government did not increase the defence budget year on year in line with inflation, Mr Healey said: “Yes, that’s the cash… that’s a cash number.

“If we were increasing it … in real terms, taking in inflation, it would be something over £6 billion. Either way, this is a big boost for defence.”