Britain must DOUBLE its military spending to 'frighten Putin', ex-British Army ... trends now

An ex-British Army chief has warned Britain must double its defence spending to scare off Vladimir Putin, despite Rishi Sunak's promise of a cash boost.

Lord Richard Dannatt, who was in charge of the Army from 2006 to 2009, raised concerns that Britain isn't doing enough to deter Russia from potential attacks.

Lord Dannatt called on the government to increase defence funding to five per cent - double the amount of Rishi Sunak's new plans to raise it to 2.5 per cent.

Last week, the Prime Minister announced the budget will increase to 2.5 per cent - £87 billion - by 2030.

The Army, the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force will share the desperately needed cash, meaning the services no longer have to cut capabilities.

But Lord Dannatt, 73, thinks the figure needs to be doubled.

It comes amid rising fears of World War III as Russia continues its assault on Ukraine.

On top of that, the Israel-Hamas conflict threatens to spread violence across the Middle East, with Lebanon's Hezbollah and Yemen's Houthi rebels increasing their attacks on Israel - prompting the UK and US to launch strikes by air and sea.

In February, the Defence Select Committee released a devastating report concluding that Britain's overstretched Armed Forces may be unable to fight an all-out war.

Lord Dannatt believes the five per cent mark - which would equate to around £174 billion a year - is the price that is required to keep Russia at bay.

But the highly-decorated war veteran believes are politicians are too focused on whatever is the 'top story on the Today programme'.

Currently the UK is expected to spend roughly £57 billion in the 2024-2025 year.

In an interview with The Lady magazine, Lord Dannatt has highlighted the underfunding of the armed forces.

He said in 1935 the UK spent just three per cent of GDP on defence, but by 1939 it shot up by 18 per cent, and by 1940 it was at 46 per cent.

Lord Dannatt said: 'Today we're spending about 2.2 per cent, with a number of us calling for an increase to 2.5 per cent or 3 per cent pretty quickly.

'During the Cold War we were spending 5 per cent on defence - that was the price of deterrence.

'If we're trying to deter Putin then maybe we've got to be thinking about numbers as big as that, which is certainly off the radar as far as any political parties in the coming election are concerned.

'I think this is a weakness of democracy and a strength of dictatorships.

'A dictator who doesn't care about public opinion can take long-term decisions and drive them through, whereas our politicians now are very much driven by the top story on the Today programme.'

Lord Dannatt was instrumental in some of Britain's operations in the Middle East and became Chief of the General Staff in 2006.

The retired General, a recipient of the Military Cross, later went on to serve as defence adviser to Prime Minister David Cameron.

It follows Mr Sunak unveiling the £75billion boost to put Britain's defence industry on a 'war footing'.

Hailing a 'turning point' in national security, he said military spending would rise and secure the UK's place as 'by far the largest defence power in Europe'.

It is a major victory for the Mail's Don't Leave Britain Defenceless Campaign, which was launched after military spending missed out in last month's budget. It also draws a potential election dividing line with Labour.

Mr Sunak warned the world faces the most 'volatile and dangerous' situation in decades, with an 'axis' of adversaries including Russia, China, Iran and North Korea co-operating to undermine the West. 

Speaking alongside Nato's

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