<p>Defence secretary says value for money and modernisation key for spending to ‘fight the wars ahead’</p><p>The defence secretary, Wes Streeting, says he started stockpiling food and water weeks ago in case of a national emergency, as he talked up the threats to the UK and said his department had already begun ramping up its spending in response.</p><p>Streeting spoke after the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/oct/28/budget-2026-key-points-john-healey">chancellor, John Healey, said he wanted defence spending to reach 3%</a> of GDP by 2030 and 3.5% by 2035; having already asked Whitehall departments to find 1% cuts in their budgets for long-term investment to fund defence spending.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/oct/31/streeting-stockpiling-food-water-weeks-ago-amid-rising-threat-to-uk">Continue reading...</a>
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Streeting says he began stockpiling food weeks ago amid rising threat to UK
<p>Defence secretary says value for money and modernisation key for spending to ‘fight the wars ahead’</p><p>The defence secretary, Wes Streeting, says he started stockpiling food and water weeks ago in case of a national emergency, as he talked up the threats to the UK and said his department had already begun ramping up its spending in response.</p><p>Streeting spoke after the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/oct/28/budget-2026-key-points-john-healey">chancellor, John Healey, said he wanted defence spending to reach 3%</a> of GDP by 2030 and 3.5% by 2035; having already asked Whitehall departments to find 1% cuts in their budgets for long-term investment to fund defence spending.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/oct/31/streeting-stockpiling-food-water-weeks-ago-amid-rising-threat-to-uk">Continue reading...</a>