It’s worse than I feared – my inside briefing on Britain’s defence plans

详细摘要

Britain now has fewer frigates and destroyers active than all major allies, including France, Italy, Spain and Germany ...

Despite this Government’s frequent boast that it has done more to increase defence spending than its predecessors, Britain is facing another round of cuts in the strength and capability of the armed forces.

In Norway this week, ministers declared their intent for Britain to lead European naval forces, not mentioning that we have fewer frigates and destroyers active than all major allies, including France, Italy, Spain and Germany.

Sources confirmed to The i Paper that the Army is threatened with a severe reduction in its numbers to levels not seen since demobilisation after Waterloo in 1815. There is a suggestion that recruiting should be frozen. This is Whitehall mandarin nonsense – because while it is easy to turn the recruiting tap off, experience shows it is near impossible to turn it on again.

The Army could be cut from 72,000 personnel to 60,000 by 2029, smaller than the armies of Spain and Italy. This means it would be able to carry out just one mission abroad at a time. It would be hard to manage peacekeeping in Europe and at the same time provide back-up to allies in the Gulf.

The Navy and the RAF are faced with delays in much-needed new equipment, such as frigates, and in making vital surveillance and early warning aircraft fully operational, complicating Nato surveillance operations over Eastern Europe that are key to defending against Russia.

In last month’s Budget, Chancellor John Healey pledged the Government would spend up to 2.7 per cent of GDP on defence from next year, with an aspiration to meet the Nato targets of 3 per cent of GDP in 2030, and 3.5 per cent by 2035.

We were given little clue about how this was to be achieved. The heads of the armed services have been told to trim their operational budgets this year and next. The cuts are to be achieved by “efficiency savings”.

The Royal Navy, by reliable accounts, is about to lose another two frigates from its ageing “Duke” class of Type 23, with only one or two replacements likely to arrive before the…

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