Sir Richard Knighton, the Chief of the Defence Staff, has publicly expressed concern that the country is running out of time to strengthen its defences in response to the threat from Russia.
The defence chief’s warnings came amid London’s significant lag behind the country’s Defence Investment Plan.
This document sets out funding for military equipment and services to ensure the British Armed Forces reach a state of ‘combat readiness’, but its implementation has been delayed since last year due to budgetary disputes within the government.
In addition, Sir Richard Knighton has written to Prime Minister Keir Starmer expressing concerns that the level of defence spending proposed by the government is insufficient.
his comes after the Treasury offered the Ministry of Defence an additional £13 billion (€15 billion) over four years to fund the procurement of new aircraft, submarines, ships, drones and missiles.
This figure is at the lower end of the £12bn to £18bn range that was under consideration. This is also significantly less than the actual amount of additional funding which, according to the military, is needed to restore capabilities in times of escalating threats.
The funding shortfall for the restoration of the Royal Navy, the Army and the Royal Air Force was estimated at at least £28 billion (€32 billion).