Rishi Sunak to unveil major uplift to defence spending with extra £23BILLION in next six years

DEFENCE spending will hit the 2.5 per cent of GDP target by the end of the decade, Rishi Sunak is expected to announce.

The expected rise will mean £23 billion more for the armed forces by the end of the decade.

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It will make the UK the fifth highest spender in Nato - behind only Estonia, Poland, the US, and Greece.

The Government's position has previously been it would only increase defence cash to 2.5 per cent when economic conditions allow.

The announcement comes after months of pressure from MPs and ministers, who had hoped to see a rise in the Spring Budget amid the war in Ukraine and instability in the Middle East.

The PM will make the pledge made during press conference in Warsaw, Poland, with Nato boss Jens Stoltenberg.

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He is expected to say it will be a gradual increase from Britain's 2023 level of 2.23 percent of GDP.

Former Armed Forces Minister James Heappey wrote on social media: "This is enormous news and hugely needed in the Ministry of Defence."

Mr Heappey alongside former Defence Secretary Ben Wallace had been extremely vocal about the need for a hike in defence spending.

Last month Mr Wallace claimed some in Government are “just hoping” threats to the UK “will go away”, while Mr Heappey warned the UK has failed to prepare for war as a “whole-nation endeavour”.

Mr Sunak is on a whistle-stop tour of Poland and Berlin for security talks in the face of Putin’s invasion.