The Prime Minister Boris Johnson has met with military leaders at Downing Street and visited an army training ground to thank troops for their service.
The Prime Minister hosted the Chief of Defence Staff, the Heads of the Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force, the Vice Chief of Defence Staff, the Chief of Joint Forces Command and the Defence Secretary Ben Wallace for the meeting at Downing Street.
Mr Johnson used the opportunity to set out his commitment to renew and modernise Armed Forces backed by £2.2 billion increased funding maintaining world-class armed forces.
Discussion took place with military chiefs on plans to invest in and modernise our Armed Forces so they are able to meet evolving global security challenges that lie ahead.
It follows the announcement that an extra £2.2 billion will be spent on defence, as set out in the Spending Round.
The settlement boosts the defence budget to almost £41.5 billion and represents an increase of 2.6% above inflation, well above the government’s commitment to grow the defence budget by 0.5% above inflation every year of this parliament.
The money will allow the armed forces to prioritise key capabilities such as cyber, shipbuilding and the nuclear deterrent.
Mr Johnson said: “I am a Prime Minister who will back our Armed Forces all the way. That is why we are boosting defence spending by £2.2 billion – a 2.6% increase. The recent Spending Review should leave no one in any doubt of our commitment to maintaining a world-class Armed Forces. We continue to exceed our NATO commitment to spend 2% of GDP on defence, and remain the largest NATO defence spender in Europe.
“As the world becomes a more competitive and challenging place, maintaining a world-class armed forces is as important as ever. Defence has a vital role to play in supporting Global Britain’s role in the world. It underpins the strength of our alliances and enables us to support the rules-based order in a time of international uncertainty.”
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