Rishi Sunak announces a significant increase in military spending during his visit to the US

Rishi Sunak is expected to announce a multibillion-pound increase in defense spending when he visits the US this weekend, following pressure from Ben Wallace.

The Prime Minister will meet President Joe Biden and his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese in Washington, DC to discuss the trilateral nuclear-submarine pact.

And yesterday, Treasury Department sources told the Mail that Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is preparing to increase the defense budget – but declined to say by how much.

The cash injection, which is expected to amount to “several billion pounds” over two years, would come days before Budget Day on March 15.

It comes after Defense Secretary Wallace called for between £8billion and £11billion more for the military amid fears Britain’s armed forces have been “cut beyond the bones”.

The Prime Minister will meet President Joe Biden and his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese in Washington, DC to discuss the trilateral nuclear-submarine pact

Tory MPs said the money was needed to help pay for the war in Ukraine and inflation.

But the Treasury was initially reluctant, saying the demands were prohibitively expensive and citing existing projects billions of pounds over budget.

The number of army troops has been reduced from 83,000 in 2015 to a target of 72,500 soldiers by 2025. Army supplies have been depleted by £2.3 billion in military aid given to Ukraine last year.

Former Armed Forces Minister Mark Francois said: “Given the brutal war in Ukraine, any increase in our defense budget is very welcome, but we also need to reform our ‘broken’ procurement system so that we can spend additional resources more wisely – more cash alone is.” not the answer.’

A number of parliamentary reports have revealed the appalling state of affairs in some parts of the armed forces.

Defense Secretary Wallace has called for between £8billion and £11billion more for the military amid fears that Britain’s forces have been “cut beyond the bones”.

MPs’ Defense Committee found the military’s armored vehicle capability was “obsolete and underperforming”, while the Public Accounts Committee said “broken” military procurement practices resulted in billions of pounds of taxpayer money being wasted.

Former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith said: “The Treasury should not play games with this. There is war and we are allies of the Ukrainians.

“The PM has already said we will do whatever it takes – but I’m afraid ‘whatever it takes’ is money.”

Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk