Politics latest news: Grant Shapps says he’ll ‘fight’ for higher defence budget

Grant Shapps said he will “fight” for a higher budget for the Ministry of Defence but he will lobby Rishi Sunak for the extra cash “in my own way”. 

The Defence Secretary was asked this morning if he will be as vociferous as his predecessor Ben Wallace was in calling for more funding. 

He told Sky News: “I am now in charge of the Ministry of Defence and as the Secretary of State of course I will always fight my corner. 

“In fact it is quite helpful from my point of view coming here, the amount that we are spending, the proportion of our gross domestic product that we are spending on defence, is on the rise and we have already said that we want to see that over the longer term, as conditions allow, to go up to 2.5 per cent. It is over £50billion already. 

“I fully support that. I think it is very important that we are protected as a nation but also that we are doing our part around the world to help the world be better protected.”

Asked again if he will be as vociferous as Mr Wallace, Mr Shapps said: “I will do it in my own way but as I say I have spoken before about my desire to see a higher defence budget, well before being in this role.”

Mr Shapps publicly called for defence spending to increase to three per cent of GDP last year during the Tory leadership contest. Mr Sunak has rejected calls for three per cent but has said his ambition is to hit 2.5 per cent in the long term.

You can follow the latest updates below.