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The UK will appoint a new envoy to oversee a plan to ramp up the production of weapons and ammunition, which is now a “national priority”, the foreign secretary has revealed.

Lord Cameron, speaking on a visit to Ukraine, also underlined the importance of supporting the Ukrainian war effort against Russia, warning that the world was at an “absolutely critical tipping point” and Kyiv must prevail or else Europe faced a “very dangerous future”.

However, he cautioned against an idea from French President Emmanuel Macron to consider sending NATO troops to Ukraine to join the fight if Russia’s Vladimir Putin achieves a breakthrough, saying that such a move would be a “dangerous escalation”.

“I don’t think it is right to have NATO soldiers killing Russian soldiers,” the foreign secretary said in an interview in the western city of Lviv on Friday, having met President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other top ministers in Kyiv on Thursday.

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In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, left, shakes hands with Britain's Foreign Secretary David Cameron in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, left, shakes hands with Lord Cameron this week. Pic: Ukrainian Presidential Press Office/AP

Lord Cameron made the two-day trip to reaffirm the UK’s commitment to Ukraine, which most recently includes a promise to transfer more of the British military’s own stockpiles of weapons, including precision-guided bombs and air defence missiles.

The UK has also promised at least £3bn worth of military assistance annually.

But Western nations are failing to deliver munitions to Ukraine’s frontline as quickly as Russia is rearming its military, with Russian troops gaining ground in the east in recent months.

President Putin put his economy on a war footing when he launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 – something NATO allies are only slowly starting to move towards.

Rishi Sunak said last week he would increase UK defence spending to 2.5% of national income by 2030 – claiming this equated to an additional £75bn in investment.

He also said he was putting the UK defence industry on a “war footing” and added £10bn of new funding would be dedicated to domestic munitions production over the next decade.

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Lord Cameron met Lviv's mayor during his visit to Ukraine
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Lord Cameron met Lviv’s mayor during his visit to Ukraine

‘We need to build up our own stocks’

Asked how Britain could force defence companies like BAE Systems, Thales and Babcock – that have to answer to their shareholders, not the government – to increase production lines at the required rate and scale without some kind of legislation to force them to act, Lord Cameron revealed the plan for a new envoy for defence production.

“There is a specific munitions strategy of £10bn which will do exactly what you are talking about – the ramping up of production,” he said.

“But crucially I think we can go further than that in terms of a specific defence envoy with the ability from the prime minister to go out and make sure we are doing those muti-year deals with the defence suppliers because we need not only to provide more weapons to Ukraine, we need to build up our own stocks.

“So this is very important, it is a national priority.

“The prime minister is giving the lead and I think the industry will respond.”

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Pushed on whether the new envoy – whose identity has not yet been revealed – would be the modern-day equivalent of someone like Lord Beaverbrook, who was tasked with expanding aircraft production during the Second World War, Lord Cameron said: “It is the 21st century so there won’t be a Lord Beaverbrook.”

But he signalled that the envoy’s ability to approach industry with a commitment to fund multi-year contracts for munitions would be key – and could also drive down cost.

“It is possible to go to the defence contractors and say to them: ‘You are not going to get the price you might have hoped for year after year after year because we are going to make a contract with you over the coming years to make sure we replenish our ammunition, our artillery, our long rage fires, our missiles’ – those crucial things vital for Ukraine but also vital for our own defence.”

As for why the government needed to appoint a specific envoy to this role, Lord Cameron said: “You need I think to have that direct line to the prime minister to make sure we are making this the national priority it clearly is.”

Cameron warns of ‘dangerous future’

Turning to the war in Ukraine, the foreign secretary said Europe faced “two futures” – one in which Ukrainian forces, backed by Western weapons, are able to push out the Russian invaders and secure what he called a “just peace”.

“That is a footing on which you can see great security and prosperity for us and for Europe,” he said.

But he warned: “A future in which Putin is successful and Ukraine is pushed back is I think a very dangerous future.”

Nations such as Moldova and even the NATO states of the Baltics would be worried that President Putin might turn his attention towards them next, Lord Cameron said.

In addition, the authoritarian regimes in Iran and China would be watching closely.

“I think we are at an absolutely crucial tipping point in global affairs,” Lord Cameron added.

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AI, robots, lasers and gap years in armed forces: Key details as UK to become ‘battle ready’

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AI, robots, lasers and gap years in armed forces: Key details as UK to become 'battle ready'

The UK must rebuild its military and get the whole country ready for war as the threat of conflict with a nuclear power like Russia or China is real, a major defence review warns.

It described what might happen should a hostile state start a fight, saying this could include missile strikes against military sites and power stations across the UK, sabotage of railway lines and other critical infrastructure and attacks on the armed forces.

Politics latest: Britain must be ‘battle-ready’, says PM

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PM challenged on NATO, defence and Gaza

In a devastating verdict on the state of Britain’s defences, the Strategic Defence Review (SDR) said today’s armed forces are “not currently optimised for warfare”, with inadequate stockpiles of weapons, poor recruitment and crumbling morale.

“The international chessboard has been tipped over,” a team of three experts that led the review wrote in a foreword to their 140-page document.

“In a world where the impossible today is becoming the inevitable tomorrow, there can be no complacency about defending our country.”

British soldiers from the 16 Air Assault Brigade training in North Macedonia. Pic: AP
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British soldiers from the 16 Air Assault Brigade training in North Macedonia. Pic: AP

The review, which was commissioned by Sir Keir Starmer last July, made a list of more than 60 recommendations to enable the UK to “pivot to a new way of war”.

They include:

  • Increasing the size of the army by 3,000 soldiers to 76,000 troops in the next parliament. The review also aims to boost the “lethality” of the Army ten-fold, using drones and other technology.
  • A 20% expansion in volunteer reserve forces but only when funding permits and likely not until the 2030s.
  • Reviving a force of tens of thousands of veterans to fight in a crisis. The government used to run annual training for the so-called Strategic Reserve in the Cold War but that no longer happens.
  • Embracing new technologies such artificial intelligence, robots and lasers. The paper said the UK must develop ways to defend against emerging threats such as biological weapons, warning of “pathogens and other weapons of mass destruction”.
  • The possibility of the UK buying warplanes that could carry American nuclear bombs to bolster the NATO alliance’s nuclear capabilities. The review said: “Defence should commence discussions with the United States and NATO on the potential benefits and feasibility of enhanced UK participation in NATO’s nuclear mission.”
  • The expansion of a cadet force of children by 30% and offering a “gap year” to people interested in sampling military life.
  • Increasing the size of the army by 3,000 soldiers to 76,000 troops in the next parliament. The review also aims to boost the “lethality” of the army 10-fold, using drones and other technology.
  • New investment in long-range weapons, submarines, munitions factories and cyber warfare capabilities.

General Sir Richard Barrons, part of the review team and a former senior military officer, described the vision as “the most profound change” to UK defences in 150 years.

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Strategic Defence Review: What does it mean?

But there were some notable gaps – likely caused by limited finances.

This includes only a brief mention of bolstering the UK’s ability to defend against cruise and ballistic missiles – a key weakness but one that would be very expensive to fix.

Earlier today, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the Strategic Defence Review was a “blueprint to make Britain safer and stronger, a battle-ready armour-clad nation, with the strongest alliances and the most advanced capabilities, equipped for the decades to come”.

Defence Secretary John Healey, writing in a foreword to the document, said “up to” £1bn would be invested in “homeland air and missile defence” as well as the creation of a new cyber and electromagnetic warfare command.

The review was drawn up with the expectation that defence spending would rise to 2.5% of GDP this parliament – up from around 2.3% now – and then to 3% by 2034. The government has pledged to hit 2.5% by 2027 but is yet to make 3% a cast iron commitment.

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The reviewers said their recommendations could be delivered in 10 years if that spending target is reached but they gave a strong signal that they would like this to happen much sooner.

“As we live in such turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster,” the team said.

“The plan we have put forward can be accelerated for either greater assurance or for mobilisation of defence in a crisis.”

The review described the threat posed by Russia as “immediate and pressing”.

It said China, by contrast, is a “sophisticated and persistent challenge”.

It pointed to Beijing’s growing missile capability that can reach the UK and said the Chinese military’s nuclear arsenal is expected to double to 1,000 nuclear warheads by 2030.

The other two reviewers were Lord George Robertson, a former Labour defence secretary, and Fiona Hill, a Russia expert and former foreign policy adviser to Donald Trump.

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The review team warned the post Cold War-era of relative peace has ended and a time of contest, tension and conflict has returned.

Adding to the pressure, the US – by far the most powerful member of the NATO alliance – is focusing more on the threat it sees from China.

“Changes in the strategic context mean that NATO allies may be drawn into war with – or be subject to coercion by – another nuclear armed state,” the review said.

“With the US clear that the security of Europe is no longer its primary international focus, the UK and European allies must step up their efforts”.

The review set out how defence is not only the responsibility of the armed forces because countries – not just the professional military – fight wars.

It said: “Everyone has a role to play and a national conversation on how we do it is required… As the old saying goes, ‘If you want peace, prepare for war’.”

Sky News and Tortoise will launch a new podcast series on 10 June that simulates a Russian attack on the UK to test Britain’s defences, with former ministers and military chiefs playing the part of the British government.

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Starmer wants UK to be a warfare-ready state – but how does that balance with the welfare state?

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Starmer wants UK to be a warfare-ready state - but how does that balance with the welfare state?

Clement Attlee was the Labour prime minister credited with creating the welfare state.

On Monday, at a shipbuilding yard in Glasgow, Sir Keir Starmer presented himself as a Labour prime minister who wants to be credited with turning the UK into a warfare-ready state, as he spoke of the need for the UK to be prepared for the possibility of war at the launch of his government’s Strategic Defence Review.

The rhetoric couldn’t be clearer: Britain is on a wartime footing.

The UK’s armed forces must move to “war-fighting readiness” over the coming years, the UK faces a “more serious and immediate” threat than anytime since the Cold War, and “every citizen must play their part”.

Politics latest: Britain must be ‘battle-ready’

The prime minister promised to fulfil the recommendations of the 10-year strategic defence plan, which will be published in full on Monday afternoon.

But what he refused to do was explain when he would deliver on spending 3% of GDP on defence – the commitment necessary to deliver the recommendations in the Strategic Defence Review.

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Starmer unveils the Strategic Defence Review

PM is sticking plasters over wounds

His refusal to do so blunts his argument. On the one hand, the prime minister insists there is no greater necessity than protecting citizens, while on the other hand, he says his ability to deliver 3% of spending on defence is “subject to economic and fiscal conditions”.

This is a prime minister who promised an end to “sticking plaster politics”, who promised to take difficult decisions in the interest of the country.

One of those difficult decisions could well be deciding, if necessary, to cut other budgets in order to find the 3% needed for defence spending.

Instead, the prime minister is sticking plasters over wounds.

After voters lashed out at Labour in the local elections, the Starmer government announced it was going to look again at the cut to pensioners’ winter fuel allowance.

There is an expectation, too, that Sir Keir is planning to lift the two-child cap on benefits. Refusing to lift the cap was one of his hard choices going into the election, but now he is looking soft on it.

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Will the Strategic Defence Review make Britain safer?

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What choices is Starmer prepared to make?

That’s why I asked him on Monday what the choices are that he’s going to make as prime minister. Is his choice properly-funded defence, or is it to reverse winter fuel cuts, or lift the two-child benefit cap?

If he needs to be the prime minister creating the warfare state, can he also deliver what voters and his own MPs want when it comes to the welfare state?

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To hit the 3% target, Sir Keir would have to find an extra £13bn. That’s difficult to find, and especially difficult when the government is reversing on difficult decisions its made on cuts.

For now, the prime minister doesn’t want to answer the question about the choices he’s perhaps going to make. But if he is really clear-eyed about the security threat and what is required for the UK to become ready for war, it is question he is going to have to answer.

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Inside the cannabis farms being set up in rented homes

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Inside the cannabis farms being set up in rented homes

Organised criminal gangs are increasingly using rented houses and flats to operate illegal cannabis farms – and police say it is putting the lives of innocent neighbours at risk.

The gangs often use crude methods to bypass electricity meters to avoid paying for the high levels of energy the farms require, creating an increased fire risk.

Rival gangs also carry out raids on each other’s farms – a practice known as ‘taxing’ – carrying out “significant violence” to anyone who gets in their way, police say.

Greater Manchester Police detected 402 cannabis farms between May 2024 and April 2025, and Sky News was given access to an operation by its officers at a semi-detached house in a quiet suburban street in Wythenshawe.

Inside, officers found one room full of cannabis plants and another ‘drying room’ with the drug packaged up and ready to be distributed. The street value was estimated in the tens of thousands of pounds.

Cannabis farm
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This home on a quiet street was filled with cannabis plants

Cannabis farm Milam package

Outside, officers found evidence that the electricity meter had been bypassed. ‘Abstracting’ is the offence of dishonestly using, wasting or diverting electricity. One person inside the property was arrested.

“The electricity gets bypassed in order to avoid big electric bills,” Inspector Bree Lanyon said.

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“Because a substantial amount of electric is required to run the lights, the ventilation, the heat, everything else that’s required in the cannabis farm, the abstract is done in a haphazard way and it can cause fires within the properties.”

Cannabis
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Officers found bags of the drug ready to be distributed

She continued: “We’ve seen a lot of fires recently in premises that have been set up as cannabis farms, because of the way the electricity is set up. It’s not safe and the neighbouring residence could be at risk if that property is burning down.”

The risks posed by cannabis farms were highlighted by the death of seven-year-old Archie York in 2024. He was killed when chemicals being used in a cannabis factory caused an explosion in the family’s block of flats. The drug dealer responsible was jailed for 14 years.

Archie York still from Greg Milam package
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Archie York

Archie York aftermath
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The aftermath of the explosion which killed the seven-year-old

Police say gangs employ low-level operatives, known as gardeners, to manage and protect farms, who will often plead guilty to drug offences and accept the punishment to keep police off the trail of those controlling the operation.

The use of rented properties – sometimes through rogue landlords – also makes detection more difficult.

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“The vast majority are organised crime gangs,” said Detective Inspector Paul Crompton, from GMP’s serious and organised crime group. “It infuriates me when we take action against these farms and people say ‘It’s only cannabis’.

“What we see with cannabis farms is that rival organised crime groups will actively target those and break in and take the products by force. You’ve got a risk of potentially people being kidnapped or killed without us knowing anything about them.

“Make no bones about it, there’s massive amounts of money to make and they would rather just go and take that cannabis and sell it for themselves. They’ll do significant, violence against anybody that gets in the way, whether that’s the gardener, the police or residents who might get in the way.”

 Cannabis farms Milam
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Police check an electricity meter for evidence of ‘abstracting’

Police say landlords need to be aware of the risks and even the chief executive of the British Landlords Association has fallen victim.

One of Sajjar Ahmad’s properties was badly damaged by those using it for an illegal cannabis farm. “I can only explain it as horrific,” he said.

“Our members, when they’ve experienced the problem with the cannabis farm, they are shocked. They didn’t know it could happen. They are not aware of the telltale signs.

“They have the same regrets as what I experienced – you need to carry out regular inspections and, if somebody is offering you a larger rent, then you should question that.”

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