A former Tory defense secretary has urged the UK to “take the lead” on defense spending, warning the country now faces greater threats than during the Cold War.
Sir Michael Fallon told Sky News’ Trevor Phillips that less than half of Nato members spend 2% of their GDP on defence, “so we need to cajole the rest of the alliance and set an example” .
Spending began to fall after the Cold War, but the threat to Britain now was “much greater” than then, he said.
“There is a war on our continent. British ships are being sunk in the Gulf. International terrorism remains on our doorstep. The threat has expanded so we need to strengthen our defences.”
Sir Michael, who served from 2014 to 2017, called on parties and candidates to commit to increasing defense spending to 2.5% of GDP in the next parliament, saying that would be around £8 billion to £9 billion more than is actually spent now.
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Is Britain ready for future wars?
Sky News reports found The government has no national plan To defend Britain or mobilize its people and industry in war despite the threat of new conflicts.
Ministers warn Britain is heading towards a ‘pre-war world’ amid growing concerns Russia, China and Iran.
But this was not accompanied by a Cold War-style plan.
Read more: Is Britain preparing for war amid threat of conflict?
The report reiterates calls for British politicians and defense figures to step up defences.
‘The UK is not well equipped to withstand global shocks’
Darren Jones, Labour’s shadow treasurer, told Sky News the UK was “not resilient enough to global shocks, whether war, climate or pandemics”.
He said: “For too long we have not had supply chains that were strong enough to increase our resilience to these events, and as a result people have suffered the consequences of inflation and issues such as energy bills and living costs.
“From a Labor perspective we do agree with you that the UK is not as resilient as it should be and measures should be taken.”
He said Democratic Labor Party Wants to review defense spending but the opposition cannot do so because it does not have all the information.
“It’s clear that the way the defense budget is spent … needs to be better,” he said.
Read more from Sky News:
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Challenger II tank. Image: PA
Retired British Army colonel Tim Collins said the UK was in a strong position with regard to its nuclear deterrence programme, telling Sky News “if a nuclear war breaks out… we can strike anywhere in the world”.
He pointed out that this would only happen in extreme circumstances and that the UK did not have enough aircraft, calling the failure to recruit more people into the army a “national disgrace” and that our ability to manufacture equipment was “in danger”, he said .
Britain ‘unprepared’ for war
Atlantic Council senior fellow Elisabeth Braw revealed the news to Sky News Defense and Security Editor Deborah Haynes “Not surprising.”
She added that while the armed forces did their job “extremely well”, “very little attention is paid to other parts of society that have to be part of any defense in the event of war”.
Ms. Blau said the COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated this.
“This was clearly not an act of war,” she said. “But we saw that the UK was ill-prepared, or unprepared, for a crisis like this and wider society didn’t know what to do.
“If there is an armed conflict, we will be in the same situation because there is no preparation.”
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Dr Patricia Lewis, head of the international security program at the Chatham House think tank, said it had been more than a decade since the country’s plans were presented to the parliamentary defense committee – although she did caution that, as in fact Planning may be in the background.
Correcting the problem may have begun, but funding may be an issue, she said.
“I think one of the important things is to think about what capabilities we have now that are truly operational and capable enough to deploy and really focus on that … and have the ability to ramp up manufacturing capabilities,” Dr. Lewis said.
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“A series of plans have been developed to protect and defend the country”
Questions remain over when the government will increase defense spending from 2% to 2.5% of GDP, and despite calls from ministers and backbenchers for further action, it has only pledged to do so “as economic conditions permit”.
In response to Sky’s original article, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Defense said: “We have developed a series of plans to ensure national security and review and adjust these plans in light of international security developments.
“These plans will be incorporated as part of our ongoing work to develop a cross-government defense plan that will further enhance our preparedness and enhance our deterrence into the future.”
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