PM has ‘no interest in defence’ Whitehall sources say – as UK ammo stockpiles proved ‘inadequate’ by war in Ukraine
The UK is reviewing the size of its ammunition stockpiles, Sky News can reveal.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has exposed how past assumptions on what would be needed to fight a war were far too small, Whitehall and defence industry sources have said.
They urged Rishi Sunak to boost military spending to fund a massive expansion in total munition stores or else risk no longer being able to support the Ukrainian armed forces at the level needed to sustain their war effort, let alone secure Britain’s own defences.
The sources, however, said they feared the prime minister – a former chancellor – was not “interested” in defence and did not understand the need to rearm with urgency, despite a major land war raging in Europe, because his expertise lay in finance.
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It is “really sobering”, one Whitehall source said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive topic ahead of the government’s budget next month.
The source claimed that Mr Sunak was even slow to engage with a historic visit to the UK earlier this month by Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine‘s wartime leader.
He “has no interest in defence and security. Those charged with that in Number 10 can barely get access to him. The President Zelenskyy visit was engaged with late and with only peripheral passing interest. If it’s not domestic or economic, it doesn’t feature”.
A second Whitehall source told Sky News: “He is a financier and simply can’t understand these things.”
A government spokesperson strongly disputed the characterisations and pointed to a previous increase in defence spending as evidence of Mr Sunak’s interest.
“These claims are baseless and untrue,” the spokesperson said.
“It was the prime minister who, as chancellor, agreed the 2020 spending review that provided the Ministry of Defence (MoD) with the largest increase in defence investment since the Cold War.”
The new review into stockpile requirements has been taking place as part of a wider refresh of UK defence and security policy, the sources said.
They warned that any significant uplift in the size would require new funding, which has so far not been guaranteed.
The sources offered a sense of the scale of the expansion they said was called for.
A defence industry source said there needed to be a 100% increase in the number of precision-guided missiles. A second source said the boost needed to be far higher.
It is well understood within the Ministry of Defence and its procurement arm, Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S), that stockpile requirements of ammunition, such as missiles and artillery rounds, are woefully inadequate given the lessons from Ukraine.
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Jens Stoltenberg: ‘Battle of logistics’
All other members of the NATO military alliance are grappling with the same problem.
Russian and Ukrainian forces are launching artillery shells at each other at a rate not seen since the Korean war – with thousands to tens of thousands of rounds fired daily.
Jens Stoltenberg, the head of NATO, has warned member states that they are in a “race of logistics” to mobilise and expand their defence production capacity.
The British government’s strategy before Russia’s invasion, had been to hold a limited number of warfighting supplies – it costs money to keep in storage things like ammunition and spare parts – and rely on industry to deliver more in a crisis.
However, the sheer volume of equipment needed to sustain a war effort like Ukraine’s has demonstrated that this plan would not work in practice, according to the sources.
The industry source said the government needed to forge a new “special relationship” with the UK’s defence companies and work together to ramp up production – which crucially requires contracts – at the pace of urgency needed.
Defence Secretary “Ben Wallace is doing his part, banging his fist against the table”, the industry source said.
“The Ministry of Defence is saying it needs £8bn to £11bn over the next two years just to keep still. It is all the right rhetoric. But my headline is: where is the contract?”
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Ben Wallace: ‘It’s an uphill battle with the Treasury’
The source described long conversations between defence companies and DE&S about the need to replenish weapons stockpiles and expand production lines – but it was taking too long because of uncertainty over funding.
“Let’s stand up and show the world that we take defence seriously,” the source said.
Britain’s has led Europe with supplying arms to Ukraine, such as tanks, rocket launchers and missiles, so Ukrainian troops are better-equipped to fight Russia’s invading forces.
But this generosity has eroded the British Army’s ability to fight, which had already been reduced because of decades of cost-saving cuts since the end of the Cold War.
On Wednesday, the defence secretary told the Reuters news agency that the UK had begun to “warm up” its production lines to replace weapons sent to Ukraine and increase production of artillery shells.
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He said shells could be made fairly quickly but “the key is to make sure that we place the orders, and we’ve started placing those orders over the last 10 months and that starts to sort of warm up those production lines”.
The defence secretary would not be drawn, however, on how talks were going with the Treasury to secure new money for the military in the March budget.
When asked whether he felt Mr Sunak understood what was needed, Mr Wallace said: “I am reassured.”
The government spokesperson said the UK is the biggest defence spender in Europe.
“The prime minister is clear that we will do everything necessary to protect our people, which is why we our armed forces will always have the equipment and capability they need,” the spokesperson added.
The refresh of the Integrated Review was initially scheduled to be published on 7 March ahead of Jeremy Hunt’s budget on 15 March.
But, as previously reported by Sky News, that date is set to slip because an initial draft of the document failed sufficiently to reflect the impact of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on the security landscape and the UK’s military assumptions.
A new aid system has opened its first distribution centres in Gaza, according to a US-backed organisation dealing with supplies.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) began its operations in the territory on Monday, following the resignation of its director, Jake Wood, over its independence.
Gaza’s 2.3m population has been pushed towards famine by Israel’s almost three-month blockade.
Boxes of aid to be distributed across Rafah. Pic: Reuters.
The GHF said lorryloads of food – it did not say how many – had been delivered to its hubs, and distribution to Palestinians had begun.
“More trucks with aid will be delivered tomorrow, with the flow of aid increasing each day,” it said in a statement.
The controversial group, backed by Israel and the United States, has been rejected by the United Nations and other aid groups.
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People line up for food in Gaza
UN agencies and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with the GHF.
They claim Israel is weaponising food, and the new distribution system will be ineffective and lead to further displacement of Palestinians.
They also argue the GHF will fail to meet local needs, and violates humanitarian principles that prohibit a warring party from controlling humanitarian assistance.
In the meantime, scores of Palestinians in Gaza, like Islam Abu Taima, have resorted to searching through rubbish to find food.
Palestinians are having to search through rubbish to find food
She found a small pile of cooked rice, scraps of bread, and a box with a few pieces of cheese inside it – which she said she will serve to her five children.
“We’re dying of hunger,” she told the Associated Press news agency.
“If we don’t eat, we’ll die.”
Islam Abu Taeima finds a piece of bread in a pile of rubbish in Gaza City. Pic: AP.
It is unclear how many of the GHF’s aid trucks will enter Gaza.
It claims it will reach one million Palestinians by the end of the week.
There are questions, however, over who is funding it and how it will work.
Trucks transporting aid for Palestinians in Rafah. Pic: Reuters.
It has been set up as part of an Israeli plan – rather than a UN distribution effort.
Israel, which suggested a similar plan earlier this year, has said it will not be involved in distributing the aid but supported the plan and would provide security.
It says aid deliveries into Gaza are taken by Hamas instead of going to civilians.
Aid groups, however, say there is no evidence of this happening on a systemic basis.
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Israel began to allow a limited amount of food into Gaza last week – after a blockade that prevented food, medicine, fuel and other goods from entering the Palestinian enclave.
A letter has been signed by hundreds of judges and lawyers calling on the UK government to impose trade sanctions on Israel.
It also calls for Israeli ministers to be sanctioned and the suspension of Israel from the UN over “serious breaches of international law”.
“Genocide is being perpetrated in Gaza or that, at a minimum, there is a serious risk of genocide,” the letter says.
The Israeli government has repeatedly dismissed allegations of genocide in Gaza.
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At least 31 dead after school attack
More than 52,000 Palestinians have been killed since Israel launched its ground invasion of Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, following the deadly attacks by the militant group on Israel, which killed 1,200 people and saw around 250 people taken hostage.
The health ministry’s figures do not differentiate between civilians and fighters in Gaza.
King Charles and Queen Camilla are being urged to use their visit to Canada to seek an apology for the abuse of British children.
Campaigners have called on them to pursue an apology for the “dire circumstances” suffered by so-called “Home Children” over decades.
More than 100,000 were shipped from orphan homes in the UK to Canada between 1869 and 1948 with many used as cheap labour, typically as farm workers and domestic servants. Many were subject to mistreatment and abuse.
Canada has resisted calls to follow the UK and Australia in apologising for its involvement in child migrant schemes.
King Charles and Mark Carney on Monday. Pic: PA
Campaigners for the Home Children say the royal visit presents a “great opportunity” for a change of heart.
“I would ask that King Charles uses his trip to request an apology,” John Jefkins told Sky News.
John’s father Bert was one of 115,000 British Home Children transported to Canada, arriving in 1914 with his brother Reggie.
“It’s really important for the Home Children themselves and for their descendants,” John said.
“It’s something we deserve and it’s really important for the healing process, as well as building awareness of the experience of the Home Children.
“They were treated very, very badly by the Canadian government at the time. A lot of them were abused, they were treated horribly. They were second-class citizens, lepers in a way.”
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John Jefkins
John added: “I think the King’s visit provides a great opportunity to reinforce our campaign and to pursue an apology because we’re part of the Commonwealth and King Charles is a new Head of the Commonwealth meeting a new Canadian prime minister. It’s a chance, for both, to look at the situation with a fresh eye.
“There’s much about this visit that looks on our sovereignty and who we are as Canadians, rightly so.
“I think it’s also right that in contemplating the country we built, we focus on the people who built it, many in the most trying of circumstances.”
The issue was addressed by the then Prince of Wales during a tour of Canada in May 2022. He said at the time: “We must find new ways to come to terms with the darker and more difficult aspects of the past.”
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King Charles and Queen Camilla are on a two-day visit to Canada.
On Tuesday, the King will deliver the Speech from the Throne to open the 45th session of Canada’s parliament.
Camilla was made Patron of Barnardo’s in 2016. The organisation sent tens of thousands of Home Children to Canada. She took on the role, having served as president since 2007.
Buckingham Palace has been contacted for comment.
A spokesperson for the Canadian government said: “The government of Canada is committed to keeping the memory of the British Home Children alive.
“Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada deeply regrets this unjust and discriminatory policy, which was in place from 1869 to 1948. Such an approach would have no place in modern Canada, and we must learn from past mistakes.”
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