Sir Keir Starmer has announced the UK will aim to spend 2.5 per cent of GDP on defence every year from 2027 and 3 per cent in the next parliament.
In a House of Commons statement this afternoon, the Prime Minister said the figure would mean a £13.4 billion increase in defence spending.
This would partially be paid for by a cut in international development spending from 0.5 per cent of gross national income to 0.3 per cent.
He told MPs: ‘One of the great lessons of our history is that instability in Europe will always wash up on our shores, and that tyrants like Putin will only respond to strength.
‘Russia is a menace in our waters, in our airspace, and on our streets.
‘They launched cyber attacks on our NHS, and only seven years ago, a chemical weapons attack on the streets of Salisbury.’
The PM pledged to hit the figure ahead of last year’s election, but has previously declined to place a firm timescale on it before the Strategic Defence Review is published later this year.
However, recent events have increased the pressure on the government to fix a date for the target to be achieved.
Ahead of his return to the White House last month, Donald Trump suggested that other Nato countries should aim to spend 5% of their GDP on defence – a massive jump for most members of the alliance.
He said: ‘We have a thing called the ocean in between us, right? Why are we in for billions and billions of dollars more money than Europe?’
The president’s recent talks with Russia over the war in Ukraine and his derogatory remarks towards Volodymyr Zelensky have raised concerns that the US may be reluctant to provide more support in a future conflict.
As a result, many European leaders are investigating how they can prepare in the event of further threats from countries such as Russia.
Currently, the UK spends around 2.3% of GDP on defence spending, according to figures from the House of Commons Library.
It is one of 23 Nato members – out of 32 total – that met the military alliance’s target of spending at least 2% of GDP on defence.
A commitment to 2.5% would require billions more at a tight time for public finances.
Other departments are bracing for painful cuts to spending to make way for it.
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Wolves host Fulham in the Premier League on Tuesday night after contrasting results at the weekend.
Vitor Pereira’s side picked up an impressive victory away to Bournemouth, upsetting the odds in doing so after a brilliant season so far for the Cherries.
Fulham were downed 2-0 at home by Crystal Palace, which was a disappointing stumble for Marco Silva’s men after they had won their previous two league matches.
Wolves’ relegation fears have eased, but are still on just 22 points so have work to do to secure their place in the Premier League next season.
The Cottagers still have hopes of qualifying for European football next season, currently 10th but only five points off the Champions League places.
The recent meetings between the teams have largely gone in Wolves’ favour, notably a 4-1 win for the visitors at Craven Cottage in November.
Fulham have won just one of their last nine games against Wolves in the Premier League.
The match kicks off at 7.30pm on Tuesday 25 February at Molineux.
The game is being shown live on TNT Sports 4, with streaming available on Discovery+ for subscribers.
Wolves have two wins from their last three league games but they are dealing with a number of injury issues.
Yerson Mosquera, Sasa Kalajdzic, Goncalo Guedes, Emmanuel Agbadou, Hee-Chan Hwang and Rodrigo Gomes are all out.
Fulham are missing Reiss Nelson, Harry Wilson and Kenny Tete, while Emile Smith Rowe and Tom Cairney are doubts.
On Smith Rowe and Cairney, Silva told a press conference on Monday: ‘We did (assess him) yesterday. We’re going to have another session today.
‘We’re going to assess the players when they arrive and after we have to take important decisions for the game tomorrow. It’s difficult to say if he’s going to be ready.’
6/4 Wolves
17/10 Draw
17/10 Fulham
Odds courtesy of Betfair