UK to target 3% of GDP for defence spending, to cut aid budget

LONDON (Reuters) – Britain will aim to spend 3% of its GDP on defence in the next parliament, due to begin in 2029, and will help to fund that increased spending by cutting its aid budget, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Tuesday.

Starmer said the aid budget would be reduced from 0.5% of GDP to 0.3% in 2027.

(Reporting by Sachin Ravikumar and Kate Holton; editing by William James)