'Neville Sunak' faces mutiny from Tory MPs over the failure to boost defence ... trends now
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Rishi Sunak is facing growing disquiet among ministers and Tory backbenchers over the failure to boost defence spending in last week's Budget.
At least a dozen ministers and MPs are understood to have privately expressed support for Anne-Marie Trevelyan and Tom Tugendhat who have demanded spending be hiked to 2.5 per cent of GDP 'and beyond'.
The Foreign Office minister and security minister respectively made the call over the weekend in an online article in an apparent swipe at the lack of new money for defence.
Some backbench MPs were so angry that they nicknamed the PM 'Neville Sunak' in reference to former prime minister Neville Chamberlain, who failed to stand up to Hitler in the run-up to the Second World War.
One MP reportedly told colleagues they would today hand in a letter to the 1922 Committee calling for Mr Sunak to be toppled over the issue.
Rishi Sunak is facing growing disquiet among ministers and Tory backbenchers over the failure to boost defence spending in last week's Budget
Some backbench MPs have nicknamed the PM 'Neville Sunak' in reference to former prime minister Neville Chamberlain (left) who failed to stand up to the Nazis
At least a dozen ministers and MPs are understood to have privately expressed support for Anne-Marie Trevelyan and Tom Tugendhat (File Image)
One minister said: 'Across the board there's a sense that we're talking on the one hand about a more dangerous world but we're not demonstrating what that means in spending terms.
'Those of us in the know feel the threats are so many and various that it would be very hard to meet them all.'
A second minister said: 'The Budget was underwhelming. We needed a better offer on defence. This is about values and we're supposed to be the party of defence.'
Tory MP Danny Kruger, co-chairman of the New Conservatives group of MPs, said: 'The Government is increasing defence
