UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer didn’t hold back in Parliament as he dismissed claims by Tory leader Kemi Badenoch that he followed her advice on cutting the aid budget, calling her a “self-appointed saviour of Western civilisation.”
Badenoch said, “Over the weekend, I suggested to the Prime Minister that he cut the aid budget, and I’m pleased he accepted my advice. It’s the fastest response I’ve ever had from him. However, he announced £13.4 billion in additional defence spending yesterday, but this morning, his Defence Secretary said the increase is only £6 billion. Which is the correct figure?”
Starmer quickly shut down her claim, saying, “I’m going to have to let the Leader of the Opposition down gently. She didn’t feature in my thinking at all. I was so busy over the weekend I didn’t even see her proposal. She’s appointed herself, I think, the saviour of Western civilisation. It’s a desperate search for relevance.”
He clarified that the UK’s defence spending would see a £13.4 billion increase, calling it the largest sustained rise in defence spending since the Cold War.
