article_snippet: Tory MPs have criticised Government for being ‘blind’ to the soaring threats Britain faces and accused Government of freeloading off the US.
article_snippet: Former Army captain John Baron said yesterday that the UK was ‘ignoring the lessons of history at our peril’ by refusing to commit to spend 2 per cent of national income on defence.
article_snippet: The Basildon and Billericay MP said ‘misguided military interventions’ in the last decade, including Iraq and Afghanistan, had distracted the UK from the ‘greater danger of state on state’ threats from countries such as Russia.
article_snippet: ‘These threats are real.
article_snippet: The world is genuinely becoming more dangerous, and Britain cannot be a freeloader.
article_snippet: Mr Baron warned that Britain faced a significant threat from countries such as Russia .
article_snippet: Mr Baron said that if the UK was serious about defence, the Government would need to look at ballistic missiles, upgrading elite units and protecting soldiers against chemical weapons with special suits.
highlights_snippet: John Baron MP said Britain was 'ignoring the lessons of history'
  John Baron MP said David Cameron should commit to a minimum two per cent spend .
  