Penny Mordaunt attacks Philip Hammond over defence budget

Penny Mordaunt has attacked Philip Hammond for failing to understand ‘the full value of defence to the nation’ as she urged the Treasury to increasing funding for the UK’s armed forces.

The Defence Secretary said Mr Hammond and whoever is his replacement in the new government formed by either Boris Johnson or Jeremy Hunt needed to loosen the purse strings in the forthcoming spending review.

She has also demanded that allowing the UK to award shipbuilding contracts to British firms must be a Brexit negotiating ‘red line’.

Meanwhile, Ms Mordaunt revealed the Queen had promoted her to the rank of Commander with an honorary commission in the Royal Navy.

Ms Mordaunt, who has served as a Royal Navy reservist since 2009, only became Defence Secretary in May 2019 and will be keen to keep hold of the job when Theresa May’s successor is selected.

She set out her stall today as she criticised Mr Hammond, who will almost certainly be sacked by Mr Hunt and Mr Johnson, and insisted the Ministry of Defence must be given a funding boost.

Penny Mordaunt was appointed the UK’s first ever female Defence Secretary in May 2019 and today she criticised the Chancellor for failing to give the MOD enough funding

Philip Hammond, pictured last night at an event in the City of London, has been urged to make more money available to the armed forces

Speaking to the House magazine, she said: ‘I think that the Treasury has been missing a trick. It has not really understood the full value of defence to the nation.

‘The methodology that it uses is flawed. So, in advance of the spending review I will be setting out why I think it should change its methodology towards its assessment of the return to the UK of investing in defence.

‘I think there’s much more we can do to reap the benefits that defence brings to the UK prosperity agenda.’

Ms Mordaunt said she wanted to create more opportunities for British companies to win MOD contracts.

‘We should not just be a drain on resource, we should be a contributor to resource, and if the Treasury see the opportunities they are not capitalising on at the moment, we will be able to do that and make a compelling argument why we are a very good investment,’ she said.

Ms Mordaunt will be hoping it is Mr Hunt who emerges victorious in the battle for Number 10 having acted as a senior lieutenant in his leadership campaign.

However, the chances of her keeping the role should Mr Johnson secure the keys to Downing Street appear slim.

She launched a thinly veiled attack on the favourite last week as she warned the Tories against ‘riding the tiger of populism’.

Miss Mordaunt also suggested Mr Johnson would be a divisive leader who might ‘scare off’ many voters.

The Defence Secretary is a leading member of Jeremy Hunt’s campaign team. She introduced the Foreign Secretary as he launched his bid for Number 10

Ms Mordaunt has served as a Royal Navy reservist since 2009. She has revealed she has been promoted to the rank of Commander by the Queen

Ms Mordaunt played a prominent role during recent D-Day commemorations. She is pictured with British D-Day veteran John Jenkins in front of the Portsmouth Naval Memorial on June 5

Tusk lays down the gauntlet Boris and Hunt

Donald Tusk and Jean-Claude Juncker have laid down the gauntlet to Theresa May’s successor as they said the Brexit divorce deal cannot be changed but the terms of the future EU/UK relationship could be amended.

Mr Tusk, the President of the European Council, said it remained the EU’s ambition to avoid a ‘disorderly Brexit’ and that he looked forward to meeting with Boris Johnsonor Jeremy Hunt depending on who emerges victorious in the race for Number 10.

But he and Mr Juncker put the bloc on a collision course with the two leadership rivals as they both reiterated that the Withdrawal Agreement cannot be changed.

However, Mr Tusk said that if Britain softened its negotiating red lines then the EU would be open to changing the proposed future relationship between the two sides.

Both Mr Hunt and Mr Johnson have pledged to reopen the Withdrawal Agreement and make changes to it in order to secure MPs’ support.

Neither man is likely to pivot towards pursuing a customs union given such a move would provoke widespread fury among Brexiteers on the grounds it would likely rob the UK of having its own trade policy.

The comments from Mr Tusk and Mr Juncker, combined with the respective stances of Mr Hunt and Mr Johnson, mean the two sides remain locked in a state of Brexit stalemate.

Regardless of who wins the contest, Ms Mordaunt has demanded the government fight for British companies during Brexit talks with Brussels.

She said: ‘I have communicated to DExEU that I will be looking for some red lines in our future negotiations with the EU which previously haven’t been brought forward.

‘I want to be able to have the choice about reserving our ability to build ships and other capabilities.

‘Currently it is argued that we don’t have the choice and I have expressed that view very strongly to DExEU and have been backed up with support from an array of experts in this field.’

She added: ‘We may not choose to do it in all circumstances, we’re going to have much more work in our yards in the coming years, but I think we should reserve the right to do that.’

The UK’s first female defence secretary also revealed she had recently been given a new title by the Queen.

But she insisted being promoted to the rank of Commander with an honorary commission in the Royal Navy was bitter sweet.

She said: ‘You’re still part of the fleet but you help the service with a much more strategic role.

‘It feels quite sad in a way, but I think it’s the right thing to do at this moment and with this job.

‘I look forward to serving the fleet in my new role and it’s great that I still have a connection with the uniform.’

***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk