Labour will not boost military spend without economic growth, says minister

British army personnel load humanitarian aid on to a plane. Philip Ingram, a former colonel, said the government was ‘playing with fire’ by holding a year-long defence review. Photograph: Cpl Tim Laurence Raf/Reuters

The Labour government will not increase spending on the military unless it is also able to grow the economy, the armed forces minister has said, as Keir Starmer comes under pressure to say when Britain’s defence spending will hit 2.5% of GDP.

Luke Pollard said on Wednesday the government wanted to hit the target promised by the former prime minister Rishi Sunak, but would not be able to do so without economic growth.