UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to announce the Ministry of Defence has been awarded a multi-year funding settlement.
It is being touted as the biggest investment programme in the country”s armed forces since the end of the Cold War.
The leader is expected to make the announcement to British MPs on Thursday. But it will be done virtually – he is self-isolating after coming into contact with someone who subsequently tested positive for COVID-19.
He is expected to say the armed forces will receive an additional £16.5 billion (€18.4 billion) over and above the government’s current plans.
It comes amid growing concerns in recent months that the government is looking at ways to trim its commitments to overseas aid, partly because public finances have been strained by the costs associated with the coronavirus pandemic.
Johnson said the four-year financial deal for the Ministry of Defence will “transform” the military, pivoting it towards potential future threats.
“The international situation is more perilous and more intensely competitive than at any time since the Cold War and Britain must be true to our history and stand alongside our allies,” he said.
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said the deal is “enough” for the armed forces to be modernised but refused to be drawn on whether some of the new money will come from the country’s overseas aid budget.
“This means that we can have a proper discussion about what are our global ambitions and how are we going to fund it,” he told Sky News.
“When I go abroad, what many countries want from us is our knowledge, our equipment and our understanding of how to provide security and how to provide defence,” he said.
The British PM also unveiled a £12 billion (€13.4 billion) plan this week to unleash a Green Industrial Revolution across the UK that would see the sale of petrol and diesel cars banned from 2030.
Johnson said his 10-point plan would create and support 250,000 jobs and would generate over three times as much investment from the private sector by 2030.
Critics say however that the investments planned are too low and lack ambition.
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