Cameron: UK will appoint new envoy for defense production

David Cameron has pledged to appoint a new envoy to ramp up the UK's production of weapons and ammunition.

In an interview with Sky News, the UK foreign secretary was asked how Britain could, without passing legislation, compel companies such as BAE Systems PLC and Thales SA to increase production at the required rate and scale.

He said: "There is a specific munitions strategy of GBP10 billion which will do exactly what you are talking about – the ramping up of production."

"But crucially I think we can go further than that in terms of a specific defence envoy with the ability from the prime minister to go out and make sure we are doing those multi-year deals with the defence suppliers because we need to not only provide more weapons to Ukraine, we need to build up our own stocks.

"So this is very important, it is a national priority. The prime minister is giving the lead and I think the industry will respond."

Cameron is on a two-day trip to Ukraine and met President Volodymyr Zelensky to reiterate the UK's support for the country.

The UK government recently announced a commitment to increase overall defence spending to at least 2.5% of GDP. It also committed to spending at least GBP3 billion a year in military support for Ukraine.