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Defence secretary says PM will make case for spending boost at Nato’s 75th anniversary summit later this yearUK politics – latest updatesAll Nato countries should boost their defence spending to 2.5% of their GDP to meet the demands of a “more dangerous world”, the UK’s defence secretary has said.Grant Shapps said the prime minister would make the case at Nato’s 75th anniversary summit in...

Defence secretary warned by British intelligence that Kremlin was aware of his travel plansGrant Shapps was forced to abandon a trip to Ukraine’s southern city of Odesa because of a Russian missile threat.The defence secretary aborted the visit after he was warned by British intelligence that the Russians had become aware of his travel plans. Continue reading...

RAF jet was taking defence secretary back to UK from Poland, and flying near Russian exclave of KaliningradRussia is believed to have jammed the satellite signal on an RAF aircraft carrying Grant Shapps back from Poland, according to government sources.Defence sources said there was no danger to Shapps, who was travelling back to the UK, though they called it a “wildly irresponsible” act of...

Defence secretary dismisses poll, saying things will change by time general election takes placeGood morning. News organisations, including the Guardian, tend to be a bit wary of splashing on opinion polls. Polls are never 100% reliable, there is a good case for saying they constrain political reporting (because if journalists assume X can’t win, they don’t cover what X might do if they were...

Defence secretary says UK would not hesitate to take ‘direct action’ after US sank boats targeting a container shipBritain is reportedly considering airstrikes on Houthi rebels after the US said its navy sank three boats that had been targeting a container ship in the Red Sea.Grant Shapps, the defence secretary, said the government would not hesitate to take “direct action” to prevent further attacks...