Boris Johnson has sought to justify his government’s increase in defence spending by saying that the “cost of freedom is always worth paying” amid Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
At a Nato summit in Madrid, the PM announced a further £55 billion in defence spending until 2030, while spiralling inflation – currently at 9 per cent – continues to erode people’s spending power and living standards are dropping.
When asked at the summit if he is worried about “Ukraine fatigue”, amid a cost of living crisis at home, Mr Johnson replied: “The point I would make about the cost of freedom is that, actually, it is always worth paying.
“Unless we get the right result in Ukraine, Putin will be in a position to commit further acts of aggression against other parts of the former Soviet Union more or less with impunity.
“That will drive further global uncertainty, further oil shocks, further panics and more economic distress for the whole world.”
Earlier, former Labour PM Gordon Brown accused the government of not seeming to “have a clue” about how to deal with the cost of living crisis.
