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Trump ‘wants UK to boost defence spending to 3% by 2029'

Trump ‘wants UK to boost defence spending to 3% by 2029'

Times20-05-2025

Donald Trump's administration wants Britain to raise its defence spending by tens of billions of pounds to set an example in Europe, The Times understands.
Pentagon chiefs have told their British counterparts that the US president would be 'happier' if the UK increased its budget so that it hit 3 per cent of GDP by the end of this parliament in 2029, years earlier than planned.
In February Pete Hegseth, the US defence secretary, welcomed the announcement that UK defence spending would rise to 2.5 per cent by 2027. He said the present level of 2.3 per cent was deemed to be an 'irritant' in Washington.
However, America does not believe that the increase goes far enough, according to a senior US official speaking on

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