Mark Francois compares PM to WWII appeaser Neville Chamberlain amid defence spending row

Conservative MP Mark Francois today warned the prime minister that he risks repeating the mistakes of his distant predecessor Neville Chamberlain in the government’s approach to defence spending.

Francois told the commons that, as “the son of a D-Day veteran”, he wished to be assured the government would not “forget the lessons of history and make the same mistake again”.

The prime minister responded: “I agree with him wholeheartedly that sadly, the world that we are living in is becoming both more challenging strategically and more dangerous. And in response to those challenges, we must invest more in our armed forces.”

He added: “That is exactly what we are doing with the largest uplift since the Cold War and recently topped up with billions of pounds to strengthen our nuclear enterprise and rebuild stockpiles”.

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