Wesley Smith: UK Correspondent on the significant boost in the defence spending

The UK's confirmed the biggest boost in defence spending since the Cold War. 

It comes as our Government is committing to a "very significant" increase in defence spending. 

British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer says the world has entered a "dangerous new era", where defence and national security must come first. 

UK Correspondent Wesley Smith told Andrew Dickens the funding is coming at the cost of cuts to international aid, much to the disquiet of those fearing the impact this will have on the UK’s international reputation. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
And we're joined now by Wisley Smith, Hella, Whisley Mornige, Andrew,
how are you very good? The big story right around
the world is seeing that Kirstama wants to spit more
on defense.

Speaker 2 (00:10):
Yeah. You know, if his intention was to make the
nation sit up and listen, he certainly succeeded today. This speech,
which I listened to live, sounded to say that the
UK's on a war footing. He described Russia as a
menace and said the UK needs a sharper focus on defense,
enhancing intelligence budgets too. Probably no coincidence of cause Andrew
that all this comes just ahead of his trip to

(00:32):
Washington to meet President Trump, who has raised more than
a few eyebrows with his recent comments on the Ukraine war,
appearing somewhat warmer, should we say in his approach to
Vladimir Putin. Well, Starmer spoke of his visits to Ukraine
and how he felt personally affected by what he'd seen
and said we must stand by its people. So he
needs to show now he means business in Washington, but

(00:52):
has a huge diplomatic to achieve. So he made a
point of underlining the UK's decades long mutually supportive relationship
with the US and said it must continue to go
from strength to strength. So in the comments he pledged
what he calls the biggest increase in defense spending since
the end of the Cold War, thirteen point four billion
pounds a year I guess around thirty billion New Zealand

(01:14):
dollars from twenty to twenty seven. But on the day
householders here had energy prices will rise again from April secure,
Starmer said we all have to shoulder some of the
burden through hard choices. Much of the funding will come
at the cost of international aid, although that's a budget
cut to almost half that very much to the disquiet
of some who fear it will dentiur global reputation. He

(01:35):
did say, however, he hoped it could eventually be restored.

Speaker 1 (01:38):
Yes, yes, the squealing from aid agencies has you can
hear it over here in New Zealand. That's for sure.
They're really complaining about the whole thing. But at the
same time, it has been a very long time when
that any country has been on what you call war footing,
and that war footing all through the ages has always
meant hardship. So what interesting times we live in such
interesting times had apparently there is a solid gold toilet

(02:01):
seat worth what six million New Zealand dollars and it's
now been stolen it.

Speaker 2 (02:07):
It was an art installation, fully functioning eighteen carrot solid
gold toilet called America Make of that what you will
by the artist Barizio Catalan. It was on display at
the Blenham Palace, one of England's most lavish stately homes,
birthplace of the wartime leader Sir Winston Churchill. Now that
it's taken a while for this case to come to
Oxford Crown Court, as the said gold's toilet seat disappeared

(02:29):
back in September twenty nineteen, when ninety eight kilograms the
gold alone was valued at two point eight million pounds.
It's never been recovered. The court heard, it had most
likely been split up into smaller amounts of gold. It's
only been on display for a day when the overnight
raid happened. Whoever removed it used sledge hammers which were
left at the sea with water pouring out of the pipes.

(02:50):
The entire operation, Andrew only took about five minutes well,
the prosecution claimed. In a couple of days contact was
made with a jeweler in London's famous Hatton Garden, and
the court heard a lot of preparation must have happened
before the raid and claimed one of the men accused
of the theft had visited the exhibit and taken a
photo just hours before that raid. What three men are
up in court and the trial continues.

Speaker 1 (03:11):
Fantastic. When you have to go, you really have to go,
and it seems and I thank you. That is Weizley Smith.
For more from Early Edition with Ryan Bridge.

Speaker 2 (03:19):
Listen live to News Talks it Be from five am weekdays,
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