Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak are locked in a power struggle over money for the military after the chancellor axed the three-year spending review last week.
The prime minister is demanding that the chancellor guarantee defence spending for three years so he can launch a defence and security review next month.
But after daily meetings between the two last week, Sunak is digging in, arguing that the uncertainty about Covid-19 and Brexit rules out a long-term plan.
Ben Wallace, the defence secretary, is fighting for a budget increase so the armed forces can begin to make changes and keep the promise made in the Tory manifesto that defence spending would rise by 0.5% above inflation each year. Sunak is resisting this.
Defence chiefs reacted with