The Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, has confirmed that welfare spending will not be cut to fund the target of spending 3% of GDP on defence by 2030, according to a Budget explainer from Which?.
If accurate, that rules out the funding route Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative leader, demanded in a speech in Westminster. She said the Chancellor, John Healey, should pay for the extra military spending by cutting welfare and reining in borrowing.
Which? does not say when or where Mr Burnham made the commitment. It has not been independently checked against the record.
The same explainer says Mr Healey is expected to confirm the government's welfare spending plan in the Budget on Wednesday 28 October, including targeted cuts for the coming years. Which? does not say how those cuts relate to the defence commitment.