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23/10/2026
Hacked Off
The Prime Minister “won’t spend more on defence” and is “wasting a fortune” on emergency-preparedness advice.
UK defence spending is rising, to about 2.56% of GDP in 2026, and the Government says it is committed to 3.5% by 2035. No cost for the advice campaign has been published.
Join 71,384 others who are taking action to share the truth & raise standards in the press
On 22 October 2026, the Daily Mail published a story headlined “Nanny Burnham won’t spend more on defence but is wasting a fortune lecturing us on stockpiling tins, water, loo roll and a wind-up radio in case of a national emergency”.
This headline is inaccurate.
First, the Government is spending more on defence, and the figure is rising. Full Fact’s government tracker estimates UK defence spending at about 2.56% of GDP in 2026. At Prime Minister’s Questions, Mr Burnham said the Government was committed to 3.5% of GDP by 2035. What he has declined to do is commit to 3% by 2030.
Second, no cost has been published for the emergency advice campaign. The Cabinet Office announcement gives none, and asks households only for a small supply of food and water. The article offers no figure behind “a fortune”.
This story reached up to 16.2 million people.
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