Jeremy Hunt pushes for defence spending to rise by a quarter

Tory leadership hopeful’s plan would use up more than half of £27bn fiscal headroom set aside by chancellor. Jeremy Hunt will promise to increase spending on defence by a quarter during the next five years, as he seeks to woo the grassroots Tories who will select Britain’s next prime minister. The foreign secretary is the underdog in the race to succeed Theresa May, with Boris Johnson the clear favourite, but the defence pledge is the latest of a series of policy announcements