Wes Streeting has piled pressure on Rachel Reeves to cut welfare spending to boost defence.
In the first sign of open Cabinet dissent over the defence emergency, the Health Secretary on Thursday appeared to suggest benefits could be curbed, saying the money for the Armed Forces has ‘got to come from somewhere’.
But, Mr Streeting stopped just short of breaching the cabinet’s collective responsibility rules.
Asked if he would support diverting funds from welfare to the Armed Forces, Mr Streeting told LBC: ‘Well, yeah. We want to reduce the welfare budget…’
He added: ‘We have been putting more money into defence as a government, but we will need more.
‘That is the reality of the challenge of the world that we face.’
Asked if the money should come from the welfare budget, he replied: ‘Well it’s got to come from somewhere.’
The row came as the Treasury was forced to deny explosive claims the Chancellor is blocking increased funding for defence because of the Armed Forces’ poor record on ‘gender parity’.
Aides to the Chancellor intervened after Downing Street failed to dispute reports her woke views are the source of the damaging Whitehall deadlock over defence spending.
Kemi Badenoch described the alleged comments, first reported by The Spectator, as a ‘new low’, adding: ‘If Reeves isn’t funding our Armed Forces because 50 per of them aren’t female, she is unfit for government. This is a new low.
‘Labour have no idea how to protect us and know nothing about defence.’
Former Nato chief Lord Robertson pointed the finger at the Chancellor for the defence spending deadlock this week, accusing ‘non-military experts in the Treasury’ of ‘vandalism’.
A long-awaited Defence Investment Plan setting out spending for the next decade is now more than six months overdue.
Ministers have identified a £28 billion black hole in defence funding over the next four years.
But Ms Reeves is currently arguing she can’t afford to hand over more than £10 billion.
According to The Spectator, Ms Reeves asked military officials: ‘Why should we give money to a department that’s so far away from gender parity?’
Sir Keir’s spokesman repeatedly refused to comment on the ‘speculation’ on Thursday, telling reporters: ‘Our focus is on finalising the Defence Investment Plan.’
The Treasury later denied the claim, with one source describing it as ‘b******s’.
Addressing spending at a meeting of the International Monetary Fund in Washington last night, Ms Reeves said: ‘We are working through a range of options.’
The Mail is urging increased spending through its Don’t Leave Britain Defenceless campaign.
