RISHI Sunak ignored a direct MoD warning that the UK will miss Nato spending commitments by 2025 — and even tried to have the alert letter withdrawn.
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace wrote to the Chancellor before March’s Spring Statement to warn arming Ukraine and inflation pressure meant the UK is facing a real-terms cut in security spending.
The letter said the sacred Nato commitment to spend two per cent of GDP on defence risks being missed by the middle of the decade.
But Mr Sunak never replied to the letter of March 11 and refused to alter spending plans.
Instead, it’s claimed Treasury officials “put pressure” on the Ministry of Defence to withdraw the letter — sparking major Cabinet tensions.
One Whitehall source said: “MoD officials are still flabbergasted they were barred from engaging with the Treasury on this matter and the letter appeared to have gone in the bin at No11.”
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Ahead of the Spring Statement on March 22, the Treasury said on a number of occasions no formal request for additional defence spending was received.
However, last night Treasury insiders confirmed receipt of the letter, but said that no formal business proposal was included beyond a plea for extra cash.
A spokesman for Mr Sunak added: “This Government has provided the largest increase in defence spending since the Cold War, hiking the defence budget by £24billion.”
But Mr Wallace was last week backed in his call to hike the Defence budget by Foreign Secretary Liz Truss.
