Bob Stewart on UK defence spending and Tory policy

UK defences were already "down to the bare minimum" said a Conservative MP amid reports that his party may not ring fence defence spending at 2%.

Bob Stewart said he felt "horror" about it falling after the May election, and quoted previous comments from George Osborne after a Nato summit.

The former Army officer told Andrew Neil that: "Defence is the first priority, nothing else matters if we don't defend our country."

The MP said the UK could not "chide" other Nato nations on defence spending only for Britain to then cut its own budget.

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