'Can't let our guard down again' Truss rages at NATO allies as she demands spending met

Liz Truss declined to say if she agrees with Defence Secretary Ben Wallace's plea for a significant increase in defence spending, but said the budget must be "fit for purpose". Speaking from the NATO Summit in Madrid, she insisted members need to ensure they meet the 2 percent spending requirements in defence this year to ensure the alliance does not "let our guard down again". Ms told Sky News: "I agree that we need to make sure that all of the Western alliance is spending more on defence and putting more into ... supporting our eastern allies.

"I'm not going to get into details of the negotiations of the spending review.

"I think it is imperative that we do make sure that our defence budget is fit for purpose and also able to deal with the modern challenges like cyber warfare, the issues that we face in space as well."

Asked about Government plans to shrink the Army, she said: "I support our plans on defence.

"But what I'm saying is we need to continue to evolve them as we face new and different threats. I don't think any of us expected to see this type of war on European land in our lifetimes."

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The Foreign Secretary also said she does not accept criticism from MPs that the UK was slow to impose sanctions on Russia and that complacency was allowing "dirty money" from Russian oligarchs to flow into the UK.

Asked about a highly critical report from the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, Ms Truss said: "We have sanctioned, as a country, more individuals and entities in Russia than any other government in the world.

"We passed emergency legislation as soon as this appalling war was perpetrated, as soon as Russia invaded Ukraine, and we've been able to hit Russia hard with sanctions."

Asked whether she accepted the committee's criticisms, she said: "I don't. We acted very quickly and we have done more than any other country in terms of the number of individuals and entities who were sanctioned."

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NATO officially invited Sweden and Finland to join the alliance on Wednesday and pledged a seven-fold increase from 2023 in combat forces on high alert along its eastern flank.

President Vladimir Putin said Russia would respond in kind if NATO set up military bases in the new member states after they join the US-led military alliance.

The Russian leader was quoted as saying he could not rule out that tensions would emerge in Moscow's relations with Helsinki and Stockholm over their joining NATO.

Joe Biden announced more land, sea, and air force deployments across Europe from Spain in the west to Romania and Poland bordering Ukraine.

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These included a permanent army headquarters with an accompanying battalion in Poland - the first full-time US deployment on NATO's eastern fringes.

During the summit, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg committed to put 300,000 NATO troops on high readiness from 2023.

Mr Stoltenberg said: "President Putin's war against Ukraine has shattered peace in Europe and has created the biggest security crisis in Europe since the Second World War.

"NATO has responded with strength and unity."

The UK said it would provide another 1 billion pounds ($1.2 billion) of military support to Ukraine, including air defence systems, uncrewed aerial vehicles, and new electronic warfare equipment.