Rishi Sunak accused of having his ‘head in the sand’ over defence spending by top army brass

FORMER Top Brass accused Rishi Sunak of having his “head in the sand” yesterday — after he handed the Ministry of Defence just half the cash it said it needed.

The PM will unveil an extra £5billion during a visit to California today, compared with the £11billion that the Defence Secretary said was needed to fill a black hole.

Ben Wallace had warned the Armed Forces had been “hollowed out” by inflation and kit and ammo sent to Ukraine.

But the PM and Chancellor offered up just £1.98billion extra this year, with £2.97billion next year.

The rise will see defence spending hit 2.25 per cent of GDP, and there is also a pledge to increase that to 2.5 per cent in the “longer term”.

The Nato commitment is two per cent.

Mr Wallace insisted he was “delighted” with the settlement.

But ex-Army chief General Sir Richard Dannatt slammed the increase as “derisory”.

He fumed: “This Government is beginning to look like an ostrich over defence spending.

“The parallels to the 1930s grow stronger — a threat from a dictator in Europe and a refusal to reinvest or rearm.”

The extra cash is less than increases announced by Germany, France, Poland and the Netherlands in recent months.

Former joint forces commander General Sir Richard Barrons said: “It’s better than doing nothing, but it says nothing about reversing cuts nor any detail on Army modernisation.”

Former Col Richard Kemp, who led UK forces in Afghanistan, said the figure was a “national embarrassment” and would “cost British lives in future”.

Today Mr Sunak will meet US President Joe Biden and Aussie PM Anthony Albanese in San Diego.

He said: “By investing for the long-term, we will be ready for the challenges of today and of the future.”