UK FM on increasing defence spending

British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt says that UK should consider boosting its defence spending, taking some of the financial burden off from Washington.

London: British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt on Monday said that UK should consider increasing its defence spending in NATO, taking some of the financial burden off from Washington

"It's simply not sustainable to expect one NATO ally to spend nearly 4% of GDP on defence while the others spend between 1 and 2%," Hunt said at the Lord Mayor of the City of London's Easter Banquet.

"I believe it's time for the next Strategic Defence and Security Review to ask whether over the coming decade we should decisively increase the proportion of GDP we devote to defence," Hunt added.

The British foreign secretary was speaking a few hours after meeting with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

As the pressure has increased on Prime Minister Theresa May to fix a date for her departure following the conservatives drubbing at he local elections.

On Brexit, Hunt said that the process of leaving the EU had to be achieved in a clean and proper manner and failing to do so would betray the promise of a democracy.