The United States has urged Britain to hike its defence spending to five per cent as NATO members close in on agreeing new targets.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a NATO summit today, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth singled out Britain in a call to urgently raise its spending.
'Our friends in the UK... we're going to get there,' he said, after meeting with fellow defence ministers to discuss revised commitments across the bloc.
'We think everyone is going to get there, we really do. It's important they do. It's important that the UK gets there.'
Hegseth has been crusading to get partners in Europe to shoulder more of the financial burden as the US recalibrates its focus towards China.
