Britain and France have scuppered a proposal for Nato allies to spend 0.25 per cent of GDP on military aid for Ukraine, writes The Telegraph.

“Mark Rutte, the alliance’s secretary-general, this week conceded his plan wouldn’t be taken forward because it didn’t have sufficient support.

“I don’t think this one will be proposed”, he told reporters, without naming the opponents.

But now The Telegraph can reveal that the UK, France, Spain, Italy and Canada blocked the idea when it was floated in discussions for how to boost support for Kyiv. Mr Rutte was hoping to ratify the proposal at Nato’s upcoming annual summit in Ankara, Turkey.

Ministers this week began discussions over what the alliance’s civilian chief believes should be a tangible show of support for the war-torn nation. An alliance insider said at least seven member states, who all spend over 0.25 per cent of GDP on military aid to Ukraine, had voiced support. But any proposals adopted by Nato require the unanimous backing of all of its national capitals.

“They’re not very enthusiastic about the idea”, the insider said, labelling London, Paris, Madrid, Rome and Ottawa as opponents.

The news will come as a double-blow to Britain’s credibility as one of Ukraine’s staunchest allies. This week, the Government came under intense criticism after it softened sanctions against Russian oil and gas exports. To the surprise of Kyiv and other allies, ministers signed off on a decision to offer time-limited carve-outs for purchases of jet fuel and diesel refined from Russian crude in third countries because of the situation in the Middle East.

Unlike other allies, the size of Britain’s military contribution – the third largest behind the US and Germany – is not in question, despite coming under the 0.25 per cent of GDP mark”, - reads the article.