Rishi Sunak still believes the British Army is a “top-level fighting force” despite a US general’s warning that the UK’s Armed Forces are no longer regarded as elite, Downing Street has said.
Yesterday, Sky News revealed a US general privately told the defence secretary the UK’s Armed Forces are no longer regarded as a top-level fighting force.
Defence sources revealed the US general said this decline in war-fighting capability needed to be reversed faster than planned in the wake of Russia’s war in Ukraine.
They told Sky News’ defence and security editor Deborah Haynes this should include increasing the defence budget by at least £3bn a year and halting a plan to shrink the size of the army further.
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But asked about the US general’s private comments on Monday, the prime minister’s official spokesman said “yes” to Mr Sunak believing that the British Army is a top-level fighting force.
“Yes, and we are ensuring our armed forces have the equipment and capability they need to meet the threats of tomorrow including through a fully funded £242bn ten year equipment plan,” the spokesman said.
“The prime minister is clear that we have to do everything necessary to protect our people that’s why the UK has the largest defence budget in Europe.
“We made the biggest investment in the UK defence industry since the Cold War in 2020.
“I think the defence secretary said at the time that the long term settlement provides the MoD with the financial certainty it needs to modernise, plan for the future and adapt to the threats we face.”
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He added that the prime minister is “clear” that the government must do “everything necessary” to protect its people.
Former secretary general of NATO Lord Robertson also disagreed with the US general’s view.
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“I don’t agree with him at all,” he told Sky News.
“You can find any American general to give you one opinion or another.
“The fact is that the British Armed Forces might have been weakened recently but they are still a formidable fighting force – and I think our country can be proud of them.”
He continued: “I think it is a subjective judgement by individual commanders and they vary, they come and go.
“And although I have got my criticisms of what the government is doing and how it is conducting its defence at the moment, I would not agree with that and I don’t think the majority of people in America and in the American military would agree with that particular sentiment.”
Earlier today, Conservative defence committee chairman Tobias Ellwood said people should be “very concerned” about the Armed Forces’ current capabilities.
The senior Tory called on the government to reverse “swathing cuts” to the army because its equipment has become “obsolete”.
Mr Ellwood said there had been “huge investments” into the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force in recent years, but added: “The army is in a dire state.”
He continued: “Our army is simply too small, we have cut down by 10,000 troops.
“I do hope the defence review will look at these issues and reverse some of the swathing cuts that were made a couple of years ago.
“It is up to the Treasury and Number 10 to recognise the world is changing – we are now at war in Europe, we need to move to a war footing.
“We have become complacent. We need to invest to make sure we retain people, the good people that are there, but there are not enough of them and the equipment is now obsolete.”
European powers like France and Germany have announced plans to boost defence spending significantly following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year.
Mr Sunak has yet to make any meaningful pledge to expand his defence coffers, instead pursuing a “refresh” of a review of defence policy that is due to be published on 7 March ahead of a spring budget that will signal whether there is any new money for the military.
The crisis in defence has been a generation in the making following repeated reductions in the size of the three armed services since the end of the Cold War by successive Conservative, coalition and Labour governments to save money for peacetime priorities.
In 2020, Boris Johnson, as prime minister, increased defence spending by £16bn – the biggest uplift since the Cold War, but not enough to plug the gaps.
Mr Sunak has so far resisted calls to follow his predecessor, Liz Truss, to lift defence spending to 3% of GDP by 2030 up from just over 2% at present.