Army must ‘prepare genuinely for war’, ex-defence and security chiefs warn
The army must “prepare genuinely for war” to credibly deter threats, a group of former defence and security chiefs have signalled.
Offering advice to whoever is prime minister and defence secretary after the election, a report by the New Bletchley Network – which drew on ideas from a discussion between a panel of experts – said a “hollowing out” of the regular army and reserves over the years must be reversed, warning the size of the force may already be beneath “national critical mass”.
Among those who contributed to the discussion were Lord Mark Sedwill, a former cabinet secretary and national security adviser, Lord George Robertson, a former head of NATO and Labour defence secretary, and General Lord David Richards, a former head of the armed forces.
The intervention comes amid growing concern about a failure by Rishi Sunak’s government to increase defence spending in the Spring Budget, despite Defence Secretary Grant Shapps warning the UK was in a “pre-war world” and Russia still waging a full-scale war in Ukraine.
Focusing on the UK army, the report, published on Wednesday, warned “deterrence is based on credibility”.
“British Army credibility has been weakened by 20 plus years of hollowing out and diminished fighting power. Army morale is fragile,” it added.
The brief paper highlighted a “serious wake-up signal” from a senior figure in NATO who warned the British Army is no longer a top-level, or “Tier 1”, fighting force.
These comments, by a senior US general, were first revealed by Sky News last year.
The report said: “To be credible in deterrence terms we need to prepare genuinely for war and communicate this to potential foes, NATO and allies, and particularly to the British public.”
Read more:
Ministers urge government to increase defence spending in unusual intervention
Size of UK armed forces shrinks by more than 7,000 personnel in a year
Budget’s lack of new defence spending dismays insiders and Tory MPs
British soldiers taking part in a NATO allied troops training exercise in North Macedonia. Pic: Reuters
Calls for ‘New Model Army’
It called for a “New Model Army” – widely respected and “ready to go to war”.
“We must signal to adversaries and potential adversaries the fact that we are strong and want to get stronger whilst at the same time having no interest in attacking or subverting any non-aggressive city or country,” the report said.
It stressed the importance of military mass – which has been allowed to shrink after repeated cost-saving cuts.
“Our land forces and reserves could be said to have fallen far below national critical mass. This must be reversed and the relationship between size and technology must be better understood and articulated.”
Pic: iStock
Whitehall urged to be ‘war-ready’
The report also championed a total reset of how the armed forces buy weapons and their supply chains to secure better value for money.
It urged for a new command structure in Whitehall to be “war-ready” and recommended the creation of a task force – like the one that delivered the COVID-19 vaccine – to drive change.
“We have to be bold and make difficult, sometimes unpopular, decisions if we are to deliver credible fighting power within realistic budgets and to meet the time imperative.”
Other former senior officials who took part in the discussion on 27 February that generated the report included General Sir Richard Barrons, former Commander Joint Forces Command, General Sir Richard Shirreff, former Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe, and Brigadier Nigel Hall, a former army officer who founded the New Bletchley Network.
David Beckham is set to receive a knighthood in the King’s upcoming Birthday Honours list, Sky News understands.
The former England football captain was awarded an OBE in 2003, on the recommendation of then prime minister Tony Blair, but is now set to receive further recognition.
Beckham, who turned 50 in May, would take on the title of Sir and his wife, former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham, would become Lady Beckham, as first reported by The Sun.
It has been a long-held ambition of Beckham’s, and rumours abounded last year he may finally get the honour after he was announced as ambassador to the King’s Foundation.
Speculation then hit fever pitch in December last year when he attended a state banquet for the first time, alongside his wife.
Beckham, who would go by Sir David, met the King last week at the Chelsea Flower show.
The monarch was heard asking the former Manchester United, Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain star, “You got it, didn’t you?”
Beckham responded: “It was incredible, thank you. It was very kind.”
The Queen was then heard telling him: “I’m glad you got the roses.”
Beckham and Prince William at a football match in 2012. Pic: PA
Services to football and beyond
The footballing legend played 115 times for England before his retirement in 2013. He is the only Englishman to score at three different World Cups.
His career included the treble-winning campaign of 1998-99 – when Manchester United won the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League.
He famously equalised against Greece in the dying seconds of a World Cup qualifier in 2001. Pic: PA
He also played a key role in securing the London 2012 Olympics and has been an ambassador for UNICEF since 2005.
In 2015, the organisation launched the David Beckham UNICEF Fund.
Victoria Beckham received an OBE for services to the fashion industry in 2017.
Beckham played a key role in securing the London 2012 Olympics. Pic: PA
Beckham’s ‘hacked’ honours emails
Beckham’s hopes of being rewarded for his Olympic efforts in the 2014 honours list were scuppered by an issue with his taxes. HM Revenue and Customs placed a red flag on his nomination due to his involvement in an alleged tax avoidance scheme, according to previous reports.
Beckham received an OBE in 2003. Pic: PA
In 2017, details of the footballer’s leaked emails were printed in the national press, in which he appeared to criticise the honours system and committee.
A spokesperson for the footballer said at the time his emails were “hacked” and “doctored”.
Anything other than a win for Labour would have been a humiliation in this contest.
It wasn’t any old local by-election – this was a contest where Labour knew it could act as a mini barometer of Sir Keir Starmer’s recent U-turn on winter fuel payments and become a test of how popular the politics of Nigel Farage are in Scotland.
Labour are power hungry and have, for a long time, set their sights on forming the next Scottish government.
The prime minister will this morning be breathing a sigh of relief after clinching this shock victory over the SNP and Reform UK.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
New MSP’s message to Farage and ‘his mob’
This contest on the outskirts of Glasgow came at a time where Labour had been firefighting and grappling with polling suggesting they had blown their chances of ousting the SNP from power in Edinburgh after almost 20 years.
The SNP had a spring in their step during this campaign after a chaotic couple of years.
First Minister and SNP leader John Swinney had apparently stemmed the bleeding after the infamous police fraud investigation, endless fallout over gender identity reforms, and last year’s general election where they were almost wiped out.
This result leaves them no further forward than 12 months ago with questions over the party’s strategy.
Read more from Sky News:
Scottish Labour win by-election as SNP suffer shock defeat
‘Farage could become PM – this is how Labour can stop him’
SNP and Reform UK election billboard posters in Larkhall. Pic: PA
Reform UK is very much in the Scottish picture now, finishing a few hundred votes behind the nationalists.
This is a party led by a man who barely registered any support north of the border for many years. A remarkable transformation.
The surge in support has spooked many because they know fine well Nigel Farage is only just getting started.
One poll had Reform UK forming the next official opposition at Holyrood. After tonight, that might be a tall order but Mr Farage is shaking things up at the expense of the Conservatives.
The unpredictable nature of this contest may give us a taste of what is to come.
A single ticket-holder could win the biggest lottery prize the UK has ever seen if they match the right numbers in tonight’s EuroMillions draw.
The jackpot has rolled over to an estimated £208m, after Tuesday’s £199m draw – which also would have been a record-breaking amount – had no winners.
The winner would instantly become richer than Adele and Harry Styles, while also bagging the top spot on the National Lottery’s biggest wins list.
Housing raffles take UK by storm – how likely are you to win?
Andy Carter, senior winners’ adviser at Allwyn, said: “We are now on the verge of potentially creating the biggest National Lottery winner this country has ever seen.”
The previous largest prize pot was won by an anonymous UK ticket-holder, who took home £195m on 19 July 2022.
Read more from Sky News:
Musk and Trump row escalates
Beyonce rides into London
Just two months earlier, Joe and Jess Thwaite, from Gloucester, won £184,262,899 with a Lucky Dip ticket. At the time, Joe was a communications sales engineer, and Jess ran a hairdressing salon with her sister.
Mr Thwaite said he woke up at 5am as usual, and checked his phone to see an email saying, “Good news, you have won a prize”.
But he did not immediately wake his wife, choosing to let her sleep in.
“I saw how much and I didn’t know what to do,” Mr Thwaite said.
“I couldn’t go back to sleep, I didn’t want to wake Jess up, so I just laid there for what seemed like forever. I spent some time searching for property with no budget limit, which was a novelty!”
When his wife woke up, she assumed the National Lottery app was wrong.
Read more:
$2bn lottery winner sued by man who claims ticket was stolen
Man celebrates £5.2m win with surprising first purchase
Trainee gas engineer, 20, wins £7.5m – but won’t quit work
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Winner ‘thought it was a scam’
In February last year, Richard and Debbie Nuttall were revealed as the UK winners of a £61m EuroMillions jackpot – who at first thought they had only won £2.60.
The couple from Lancashire split the £123m prize with a winner in Spain.
This year’s biggest prize, of £83m went to a UK winner in January.
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business3 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway