Tory peer Baroness Sayeeda Warsi and former Labour home secretary Jacqui Smith discuss St George's Day and the St George's cross.

It comes following ugly scenes of people scrapping with the police in Westminster while wearing the red cross - and then politicians showing off their allegiance to the symbol, including a lengthy video from Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer.

Ms Smith says it's important not to allow the "horrible bunch of blokes" - those fighting with police - to be allowed to believe the flag represents the views they're espousing.

Baroness Warsi says that when she grew up, the St George's cross was adopted by the far right.

She says that events like the London Olympics had allowed people to reclaim the flag.

The peer also points out that St George was actually brown.

The Conservative peer then says that the likes of Suella Braverman, the former home secretary, can't call themselves patriotic if they engage in culture wars.

James Heappey, the former armed forces minister, says there may be more increases on defence spending in the future - but warns it comes at a cost. 

The Tory MP tells Sophy that he has been saying "we should go further" - adding that he thinks "over the next decade or so there is a conversation about that".

The former minister praises Rishi Sunak for prioritising defence over healthcare and tax cuts in an election year, revealing the PM called him about the announcement this morning.

Mr Heappey says the current plan will allow the Army, Navy and Air Force to be "correctly enabled", and to build up defence stockpiles and manufacturing.

But he says that anyone thinking the 2.5% will bring "growth" of the armed forces "doesn't really understand just how expensive all this stuff is".

The former minister say he is not able to say where the £75bn for the defence uplift will come from, but that there will be "efficiency measures" over the course of the next parliament.

This usually means cuts to budgets - although Mr Heappey says he won't go as far as to brand the path forward "austerity".  

He again praises the PM for choosing defence over more electorally popular areas like health or education.

Sophy speaks to Jacqui Smith and Baroness Sayeeda Warsi about the latest deaths in the Channel - pointing out how hard it is to report on such a tragedy.

Ms Smith, a former home secretary, says it makes her "even more angry" about how much effort has been put into pursuing the Rwanda scheme - which she thinks won't solve the problem.

She says money should be spent on cross-Channel and European policing.

Ms Smith reckons only one or two flights will take off to Africa before the general election.

Baroness Warsi says she agrees with Ms Smith, and the scheme would only remove a small number of people.

The Conservative peer says the topic has become more about "political posturing" than a "practical solution".

She adds that it should not be a "party political issue".

Ms Smith says processing asylum decisions is complex - and the answer won't fit on a general election poster.

Five migrants, including a child, have died during an attempt to cross the English Channel in a small boat.

A seven-year-old girl, a woman and three men died in the incident off the coast of Wimereux in northern France, local official Jacques Billant said.

The French coastguard said there was a failed attempt to cross the Channel and there were several "lifeless bodies".

The tragedy came just hours after the UK government's controversial Rwanda bill - intended to deter migrants from crossing the Channel in small boats - was passed.

Some 112 people were on board the overcrowded boat, Mr Billant said.

A total of 47 people were rescued, with four taken to hospital, while more than 50 others chose to continue on their journey, the official added.

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Conservative Baroness Sayeeda Warsi and Labour's Jacqui Smith are on our panel tonight.

Asked for her opinion on Rishi Sunak's new pledge, Baroness Warsi says she backs the increase in funding - and says it is right our armed forces are on a "pre-war footing".

She says the announcement shows the direction of travel the government is taking - and that Labour is trying to say it would continue on that path.

The peer adds that she thinks a good chunk of money will go on technology and research.

Ms Smith, who was home secretary under Gordon Brown, says Labour faces two challenges: being outflanked on defence and maintaining fiscal discipline.

Squaring those things is quite difficult on a day like today, she says.

Ms Smith says she can't say where the money is going to come from - although points to shadow defence secretary John Healey saying a review will be carried out if Labour take power.

Sky's defence and security editor, Deborah Haynes, has been keeping across all of today's announcements.

Speaking to Sophy, she says it's "very clear" from everyone inside defence circles that the UK's defences are "massively underfunded" and need extra cash.

Deborah says the latest pledge to help Ukraine has essentially "raided the shelves" of the UK's armed forces and "given almost everything" to the efforts against Putin.

And she points out there is no new money today for the armed forces, and the £75bn Mr Sunak promised won't be seen until after the next election - when the Tories may not be in power.

"Clearly that creates a dilemma for defence chiefs who are absolutely trying to plough ahead with plans," Deborah points out.

Labour's initial response to the prime minister's defence announcement earlier was to suggest it would review government spending if it takes power.

But Steve Reed, the party's shadow environment secretary, says Labour is aiming to match the current government's figure to spend 2.5% of GDP on defence by the end of the decade.

Speaking to the Politics Hub with Sophy Ridge, Mr Reed says: "Yes, Labour would want to match that. 

"I think what we see is escalating threats to the security of our country, and the primary objective of any government surely is the defence of the realm."

Mr Reed states several times that reaching 2.5% is part of the UK's commitment to NATO - however, that organisation's target is 2%.

Mr Reed tells Sophy:  "We need to look and see how Rishi Sunak is proposing to fund this so we can take a view on it.

"I haven't seen that yet, any more than you have. The prime minister has not actually published that information."

He adds: "So the right thing to do would be, take a step back, have a look at those numbers when they come out and assess the feasibility of what he's saying."

Ben Wallace, the Conservative former defence secretary, said on social media that Mr Reed is not "sticking to the script" - quipping that shadow defence secretary John Healey should "have a word" with Mr Reed.

Our weeknight politics show Politics Hub With Sophy Ridge is live now on Sky News.

The fast-paced programme dissects the inner workings of Westminster, with interviews, insights, and analysis - bringing the audience into the corridors of power.

Tonight, Sophy will be joined by Steve Reed, Labour's shadow environment secretary, and James Heappey, the former armed forces minister.

On Sophy's panel tonight are:

• Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, Tory peer
• Jacqui Smith, former Labour MP and home secretary

Watch live in the stream at the top of this page, and follow all the latest updates and key moments right here in the Politics Hub.

Watch Politics Hub With Sophy Ridge from Monday to Thursday on Sky channel 501, Virgin channel 602, Freeview channel 233, on the Sky News website and app or on YouTube.

According to the defence secretary, the shadow defence secretary, the head of the Army, we're no longer in a post-war world, we're in a pre-war world.

Russia, China, the war in the Middle East, things feel more dangerous and unpredictable now, and you can understand why military chiefs think we need to be on a war footing.

That's why today the Conservatives have committed to spending 2.5% of our GDP on defence by 2030 - in what the prime minister is calling "the biggest strengthening of our national defence for a generation".

And tonight Labour's Steve Reed has told me the Labour Party will match that.

It will cost £75bn. 75 BILLION. To put that in context, the entire schools budget is £60bn. 

This is a huge spending commitment, and honestly I'm not clear how it's possible to find £75bn down the back of the sofa.

After the war in 1948 we managed to afford the creation of the welfare state by winding down defence spending. 

Right now, politicians aren't being honest about the difficult choices that will be necessary if we really do want to get back on a war footing. 

By Beth Rigby, political editor

Rishi Sunak is to increase UK defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2030 as he warns European allies that the continent is at a "turning point" in the face of the growing threats from Russia, Iran and China.

Speaking alongside NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, the UK prime minister said he planned to steadily increase defence spending by the end of the decade, rising to 2.4% a year until 2027/28 - then hitting 2.5% by 2030/31.

Funding will rise from £64.6bn in 2024 to £78.2bn in 2028, and then jump to £87bn in 2030/31.

The government said the commitment amounted to an additional £75bn in funding over the next six years and would see the UK remain "by far the second largest defence spender in NATO after the US".

Labour's Steve Reed told Sky News' Politics Hub with Sophy Ridge that his party "would want to match" the pledge from the prime minister.

But he accused Mr Sunak of "belatedly seeing the defence of our country as important" after his performance in government on defence.

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