Tory MPs have criticised the Government for being ‘ blind ’ to the soaring threats Britain faces and accused it of freeloading off the US . 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 . He said claims that Britain boasts the world ’ s fifth largest defence budget ‘ rings hollow ’ when the Ministry of Defence is slashing manpower and capabilities . Tory MP John Baron , left , urged Prime Minister David Cameron to commit at least two per cent of the budget to defence spending as US General Raymond Odierno warned over 'unthinkable ' cuts to the British Army . 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 . He added : ‘ Failing defence budgets across Nato have emboldened the Russian president , who has concluded that the heart has gone out of the alliance . This is dangerous. ’ He called on the Government to spend 3 to 4 per cent of national income on defence , saying it was ‘ nonsense ’ that on current projections Britain will be spending the same on defence as on foreign aid in 15 years . Referencing comments made by the US chief of staff General Raymond Odierno , he said the idea of British brigades serving within American divisions because of severe cuts to numbers was ‘ unthinkable ’ only a decade ago . A total of 37 MPs , the majority of whom are Tories , backed a motion in Parliament yesterday to set the defence budget at 2 per cent of national income in law , in a significant challenge to David Cameron just weeks ahead of the election . The motion , headed by Mr Baron , was passed but has no legal force . Rory Stewart , chairman of the defence select committee , waded into the four-hour debate in the Commons , saying that Britain was acting as a ‘ freeloader ’ to the US . He told MPs : ‘ These threats are real . The world is genuinely becoming more dangerous , and Britain can not be a freeloader . ‘ People stand up and list all the different kit that we have bought , but they do not intend ever to use it. ’ He added that ‘ they ’ were ‘ freeloading ’ by thinking ‘ that Britain will never act alone , that the United States will somehow fill in all the gaps ’ . Mr Baron warned that Britain faced a significant threat from countries such as Russia . He 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 . A study by the impartial House of Commons library released this week revealed that current plans suggest defence spending will represent only 1.87 per cent of national income next year . Tory MP Simon Reevell described the Prime Minister ’ s suggestion that intelligence service spending could count towards the 2 per cent target as ‘ kindergarten economics ’ . Tory Jack Lopresti said Iraq and Afghanistan showed ‘ what happens when you try and deploy troops abroad on the cheap , without being properly equipped ’ . Mr Baron agreed : ‘ It took the Americans to put in another 20,000 troops before we pulled that situation round . We require armed forces of sufficient capability and capacity to respond to any challenge . ’
Tory MPs have warned the government about cuts in defence spending . John Baron MP said Britain was 'ignoring the lessons of history ' He said David Cameron should commit to a minimum 2 per cent spend . MPs said defence spending could come at the expense of foreign aid .