Outgoing defence secretary due to unveil defence strategy paper with no new money for armed forces

Ben Wallace has said he would be prepared to speak out from the backbenches if Rishi Sunak does not stick to his promise to increase military spending to 2.5% of GDP in the run-up to the election.

The defence secretary, who announced over the weekend that he would resign his post in the next cabinet reshuffle, was speaking before unveiling a defence strategy paper on Tuesday that will lead to no extra money allocated to the armed forces despite Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.