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Fallon warns against further defence cuts

Citing threats from Islamic extremism and Russia, Defence Secretary Michael Fallon has warned the prime minister and chancellor not to cut the UK’s defence budget after the next election.

Mr Fallon told the Conservative party conference in Birmingham he wanted Britain to continue to spend 2 per cent of its gross domestic product on defence, fulfilling a target set by Nato.

In a clear signal to the chancellor, who wants to cut departmental budgets by another £13bn in the first two years of the next parliament, Mr Fallon said: “Despite the deficit we inherited, we are now spending 2 per cent on defence . . . I want us to continue that commitment.

“Now is not the time to drop our guard and drop defence spending.”

The plea for the 2 per cent commitment to continue and the warning about the risks of more defence cuts appeared to have been unscripted. A prepared text distributed beforehand made no mention of them.

A senior government source said Mr Fallon felt confident he had a strong case for protecting defence spending after the next election because of increased threats to global security from Russia’s annexation of Crimea and from Isis in Iraq and Syria.

The defence secretary’s comments came after British warplanes struck their first targets in Iraq on Tuesday, using the authorisation given by Parliament last week to join international military attacks on Islamist jihadis there.

Mr Fallon’s personal commitment to the 2 per cent target could make life difficult for George Osborne, the chancellor, who is facing a diminishing number of departments from which he can make cuts. David Cameron, the prime minister, on Wednesday announced that the Tories will ringfence health spending for the next parliament.

The Conservatives have already made steep cuts to the military during this parliament, reducing the size of the regular army from about 100,000 to 80,000. This has been met by strong protests from Conservative voters and criticism from both the National Audit Office and the parliamentary Public Affairs Committee.

Economic research carried out on behalf of senior figures in the military show that on the current budget assumptions, the UK will fall below the 2 per cent target during the next parliament. If Mr Fallon’s commitment is to be met, it will need an injection of cash from the Treasury.

Defence officials indicated that Mr Fallon’s position had not been agreed with the Treasury and that his words to the conference mark the first step in a spending negotiation that is unlikely to be settled until after the election.

The Ministry of Defence faces a particularly acute funding crunch in coming years if it is to fulfil government pledges to bring into service two large new aircraft carriers, along with their costly fleets of US-made fighter jets, and replace Britain’s ageing submarine-based Trident nuclear deterrent.

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