This contradicts the government’s declared position, which was reiterated in the budget last week, that expenditure will meet the 2.5% objective “as soon as economic conditions allow”.
He made the intervention in a LinkedIn post alongside Foreign Office Minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan.
In a social media post last week, Mr Tugendhat urged the UK to expand its defense spending to “2.5% and beyond”.
When asked today if he wanted to see Rishi Sunak do more, Mr Tugendhat replied, “Well, I want to achieve 2.5% now, as soon as possible.”
“That is precisely what we need to achieve.
“You know, the first step is to get to 2.5% and then we’ll have to adjust as the challenges we face evolve.”
