Former head of the British Army Lord Richard Dannatt has urged the prime minister to spend more money on defence.

Speaking to GB News he said: "We're serious about this. But we're also saying to our allies, come on, Britain's showing leadership here.

"Some of you aren't even spending 2 per cent. Some are just over 2 per cent. We're going to turn a half per cent. You just do your bit as well because we want to keep the Americans in. And if we Europeans don't do our stuff, the Americans will sugar off."

This comes after Rishi Sunak has promised billions more for defence to counter threats from "an axis of authoritarian states."