Britain commits to NATO 2 pct defence spending target for next 5 yrs

LONDON, July 8 (Reuters) - Britain will commit to maintaining defence spending at NATO's target of 2 percent of gross domestic product every year for the rest of the decade, finance minister George Osborne said on Wednesday.

The British government has repeatedly come under pressure from lawmakers in its own Conservatives, the opposition Labour Party and international military chiefs to commit to the target but had declined to do so beyond the current financial year.

"Today I commit additional resources to the defence and security of the realm," Osborne told parliament during his first post-election budget statement on Wednesday.

"Committing today to meet the NATO pledge to spend 2 percent of our national income on defence. Not just this year, but every year of this decade."

Shares (Berlin: DI6.BE - news) in BAE Systems (LSE: BA.L - news) , Britain's biggest defence contractor, traded up 2.9 percent after the news, making the company one of the top risers on Britain's bluechip index. (Reporting by Kylie MacLellan and Sarah Young; editing by Stephen Addison)