Ministry of Defence seeks £3.2bn as costs overrun in Yemen and Ukraine

Grant Shapps made the request for emergency funding less than a week before the chancellor’s next budget. Photograph: Andy Rain/EPA

The Ministry of Defence has said it had to seek an emergency cash payment of £3.2bn because operational costs overran after military operations in Yemen and the Red Sea – alongside Britain’s continued support of Ukraine.

Grant Shapps told MPs the MoD’s “cash requirement for the year exceeds that provided” in last year’s budget and that extra money would be required in an end-of-year supplementary estimate.