Defence Secretary John Healey has issued a pointed message to the Prime Minister over funding for the military as Cabinet wrangling continued over the Defence Investment Plan (DIP).
Discussions on the DIP are understood to be going “down to the wire”, amid speculation that Rachel Reeves is refusing to budge on a final settlement of £13.5bn – short of the £18bn originally expected.
Keir Starmer and the Chancellor are likely to push ahead with spending cuts across Whitehall to fund the plan, rather than opt for borrowing more or, as had been reported earlier, tax rises.
Shorts
At a press conference alongside Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper and their Australian counterparts on Wednesday, Healey insisted he was “not going to get into numbers” when asked whether he would accept anything less than £18bn for the DIP.
