DRAX ASKS PM TO CONFIRM THAT EUROPEAN ALLIES MUST SPEND MORE ON DEFENCE IN A ‘DANGEROUS WORLD’
Richard Drax, MP for South Dorset, yesterday asked the Prime Minister to confirm that Britain’s European allies must spend more on defence.
“Does my right hon. Friend agree that we live in an increasingly dangerous world, and that our European allies and friends must be persuaded to spend more on defence?”, asked Drax.
The MP posed his question after the Prime Minister’s Monday statement on the recent European Council meeting, where she announced that more than 130 Russian ‘diplomats’ would be expelled from 22 nations, including the USA, following the use of a Soviet era chemical weapon in Salisbury.
Mrs May replied, “My hon. Friend knows that we meet our NATO commitment to spend 2% of GDP on defence. We regularly encourage others to meet their commitment.”
“Standing together is more important now than ever,” says Drax, “The Russian threat is, sadly, no longer a relic of the cold war. And to that end we must all continue to shoulder our share of the bill for Nato protection of Europe. We cannot always rely on the USA for the heavy lifting and while the UK certainly pays its Nato minimum, I would argue that we all need to contribute much more.”