Minister calls on Burnham to show path to 3.5% target on UK defence spending

Dan Jarvis, who wants to stay on as defence secretary, says he is confident PM-in-waiting values national security The new defence secretary, Dan Jarvis, has called on Andy Burnham to increase defence spending dramatically from 2030 and “evidence the trajectory” towards a Nato target that would mean £25bn a year more for the military by the middle of the next decade. The former paratrooper said he was confident that the prime minister-in-waiting valued national security, as he openly lobbied him for cash that would probably have to come from cuts elsewhere. “What I absolutely will want to see is that in the next spending review we commit the resources to evidence the trajectory to 3.5% [of GDP],” Jarvis said, speaking before the annual Nato summit gets under way on Tuesday in Ankara, Turkey. Jarvis, who is keen to remain in post, has been in contact with Burnham and his team already to discuss defence priorities and the £298bn, four-year defence investment plan (Dip) that was finally published last week after months of ministerial wrangling. “I’ve known Andy for a very long time and I have not a shred of doubt that as prime minister he will make sure that we’ve got the resources th