§ 6. Mr. Squireasked the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of the gross nationl product has been spent on defence in each of the last three years; and how this compares with the record of the United Kingdom's main allies.
§ Mr. HeseltineOn NATO definitions, the United Kingdom spent 5.1 per cent. of its GDP on defence in 1980, 4.9 per cent. in 1981 and 5.1 per cent. in 1982. By comparison, in 1982 the United States spent some 6½ per cent. and our major European allies some 3½ per cent. For further details I refer my hon. Friend to the Statement on the Defence Estimates which I published last week.