NATO allies must commit to spending 2.5 per cent of GDP on defence, amid the need to adopt a “harder edge for a tougher world”, David Cameron is set to argue.
The foreign secretary will make his first major speech since rejoining government at the National Cyber Security Centre on Thursday, in which he will stress the need for the UK and its allies to “out-compete, out-cooperate [and] out-innovate”.
Lord Cameron’s intervention comes amid rising global tensions from Russia’s continued invasion in Ukraine to the ongoing Israel-Gaza crisis, and sparks in the wider Middle East and comes after the UK committed to ramp up defence spending to 2.5 per cent by 2030.
It also follows a raft of security concerns with the home secretary announcing on Wednesday that a Russian spy will be expelled from the UK – just weeks after two men in the UK, including a former parliamentary aide, were charged with spying for China.
And just this week, MPs were alerted to a serious data breach at the Ministry of Defence (MoD) targeting service personnel, with Sky News reporting the state involved was China.
Cameron is set to say: “We are in a battle of wills. We all must prove our adversaries wrong – Britain, and our allies and partners around the world.
“The upcoming NATO Summit must see all allies on track to deliver their pledge made in Wales in 2014 to spend two per cent on defence… and we then need to move quickly to establish 2.5 per cent as the new benchmark for all NATO Allies.
“We need to out-compete, out-cooperate and out-innovate.”
He will stress the need for old and new alliances, from the European Five Eyes, the G7 and NATO, to the AUKUS alliance with the US and Australia and the Joint Expeditionary Force.
“We need to adopt a harder edge for a tougher world,” he will argue, stressing that if Ukraine “teaches us anything, it must be that doing too little, too late, only spurs an aggressor on”.
He will insist: “This cannot go on. We need to be tougher and more assertive.”
Cameron will also address ambassadors, high commissioners and diplomats at the Lord Mayor’s Easter Banquet on Thursday, speaking alongside Lord Mayor Michael Mainelli.
The Lord Mayor is expected to call for the preservation of international standards amid “growing geopolitical tensions” at the annual Manson House gathering in the evening.
Mainelli will stress how the City of London wants to work with international partners on standards in AI and net zero to offer stability and security against a challenging backdrop.
He is set to say: “Cities thrive when the world is open to trade and commerce. And trade and commerce are made possible by standards that smooth the way. In an unstable world, international standards define what great looks like… standards represent the very best of human innovation and knowledge.
“I believe that, working alongside you all, the City of London has a role to play in maintaining and creating international standards that offer stability and security and put us a step closer to achieving our shared goals.”