John Healey's defence spending promises faced fresh doubt tonight after he refused to give a guarantee that he would meet them.
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he → face → them
The Chancellor appeared to dodge questions about exactly how he intended to fund his Budget commitments, which will need £11billion a year to achieve.
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which → appear → 11billion
Mr Healey has so far refused to say where the cash will come from to boost defence spending to three per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2030, instead kicking the decision into next year's spending review.
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cash → refuse → review
Delivering his first Budget on Wednesday, he declared the 2030 date was a 'target', fuelling accusations he was stalling for time and had no concrete plan.
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he → deliver → plan
Questioned on Friday, the Chancellor refused to guarantee he would meet the ambition.
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he → question → ambition
Speaking to the Daily Mail during a visit to BAE Govan shipyard in Glasgow, Mr Healey said: 'I said we needed a target date of 3 per cent in 2030 on the way to that.
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we → speak → that
'I've confirmed that in the Budget this week, and I'll set out the detail of that quite rightly when we set our multi-year spending plans next year as a government.'
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we → confirm → government
During his Budget speech, Mr Healey insisted he was committed to hitting a broader £35billion Nato promise to spend 3.5 per cent of GDP on the military by 2035.
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he → insist → 2035
The pathway to doing this would be set out next year, he said.
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he → do → this
However, the delay sparked outrage, with Admiral Lord West accusing the Chancellor of 'betraying' the Armed Forces by stalling on his spending plans.
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West → spark → plans
Anger deepened further on Friday when three other former military chiefs, Gen Sir Peter Wall, Field Marshal Lord Richards and Gen Lord Dannatt warned the Government's plan would embolden Russia.
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plan → deepen → Russia
The lack of strategic urgency is shocking and will only embolden our opponents.'
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lack → embolden → opponents
Gen Sir Peter, who served as chief of the general staff from 2010 to 2014, told The Telegraph.
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who → serve → Telegraph
Gen Lord Dannatt, the former head of the Army, accused Labour of 'creative accounting instead of finding real money'.
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Dannatt → accuse → money
Deterring aggression by being prepared for war is the best way to keep this country safe.
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Deterring → deter → country
Find the money now, don’t kick the can down the track for another year,' he added.
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he → find → year
With concern building, Defence Secretary Wes Streeting on Friday rallied to support the embattled Chancellor, insisting he had 'trust' in Mr Healey to deliver the spending plan.
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he → build → plan
'I understand why people are more cynical now about politicians and political promises.
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people → understand → politicians
But what I would say about this Chancellor in particular is [to] judge him by actions and not just words,' he told BBC Radio 4.
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he → say → Radio
'As Defence Secretary, he was investing heavily in our capability.
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he → invest → capability
As defence secretary he was willing to resign as a point of principle on that very issue.
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he → resign → issue
So, when John Healey says he will fund 3 per cent by 2030, I think we can believe him...
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we → say → him
we can trust him.'
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we → trust → him
While failing to provide any further clarity on the Chancellor's plans, Mr Streeting defended the move to delay explaining how Labour would achieve them.
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Labour → fail → them
'Of course that's right because of the scale of the investment that's needed.
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that → need → investment
It's right to do that at the spending review,' he added.
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he → do → review
The Defence Secretary also appeared to shrug off scathing criticism by the likes of Lord Dannatt, the former head of the Army, who previously accused Labour of 'fiddling while Rome burns' in response to the Chancellor's spending delays.
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Rome → appear → delays
'I would agree with that criticism if we weren't investing right now, if we hadn't been investing already.
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we → agree → criticism
I think that's where we're speaking at cross purposes here with some of the critics,' Mr Streeting said.
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Streeting → think → critics
Wes Streeting, left, said he 'trusts' the Chancellor, right, to deliver on his spending plan
His comments came amid renewed fears over Vladimir Putin, who on Thursday warned he was 'ready' to go to war with Europe, in a conflict that would have 'no winners'.
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that → say → winners
The delays fuelled fresh fears Britain's reputation within Nato was being tarnished, amid claims allies were growing increasingly concerned.
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allies → fuel → claims
'Nato is actively calling out Britain for failing to deliver,' Stuart Anderson, the Conservatives 'war readiness' minister, said.
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Anderson → call → Britain
'We are significantly dropping in everybody's estimation when it comes to our Nato commitments.'
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it → drop → commitments
Mr Anderson, who is a member of the Nato Parliamentary Assembly and regularly meets with politicians from the alliance, blasted the Chancellor over his military spending plan.
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who → meet → plan
'Every decision that has been made this week takes us further away from being ready for war,' the MP for South Shropshire told the Daily Mail.
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MP → make → Mail
'We are making in-year cuts that are removing our operational capability and will have a long-term knock-on impact on our Armed Forces.
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that → make → Forces
'We should have been in the position of committing to three per cent now, but Labour hasn't done it.
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Labour → commit → it
We are going to suffer because of this.'
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We → go → this
Mr Streeting insisted Labour was doing more for defence than previous Tory administrations, who had 'hollowed' out the Armed Forces to its smallest size in living memory.
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who → insist → memory
He also pointed to warm words from Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte, and other senior military leaders, who welcomed the Budget's commitments to defence.
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who → point → defence
…and 4 more, not listed.
The Aporia
