Andrew Mitchell is doing the media rounds to discuss the Tories’ new policy paper on international development, and he seemed to let slip with a major claim on defence spending to the BBC earlier. Here’s how the indispensable PoliticsHome reports it:
“Mr Mitchell said that it was not a question of choosing between the budgets for defence and international development, adding that the two departments would work much more closely under a Conservative government.
‘I don’t think that defence will face cuts, but it’s not a question of either or, you have to do both,” he said.
‘The development effort in Afghanistan which hasn’t always gone well and so to upgrade we need to have much closer coordination than we’ve had in the past,’ he added.” So does Tory high command share Mitchell’s view on defence spending? Does this count as a new, official commitment to sit alongside the ring-fenced international development and health budgets? Erm, no.
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