Rachel Reeves should exempt defence pledge from budget rules, says Gordon Brown

Gordon Brown said the defence commitment could be dealt with via jointly issued bonds (PA) - (PA Wire)

Gordon Brown has said Chancellor Rachel Reeves should exempt the Government’s defence spending pledge from her borrowing rules to help free up economic headroom.

The former prime minister said the commitment to spend 5% of GDP on national security by 2035 should be dealt with jointly as a “Nato initiative”, with costs shared across Europe.