Former UK Chief of Defence Staff urges next prime minister to strengthen defence

Anthony Radakin, Former Chief of the Defence Staff of the United Kingdom, has warned potential future prime minister Andy Burnham about security challenges and the need to strengthen the country's defence capabilities in the face of the Russian threat.

Source: Radakin in an article for The Times, as reported by European Pravda

Details: In the article, Radakin stresses that "war in Europe, hybrid attacks at home, crisis in the Middle East and the risk of conflict means the prime minister is in a quasi-wartime role" and therefore should not weaken the country's defence.

He added that "the peace dividend is over", and that funds which previous governments redirected from defence to domestic policy after the Cold War should be returned to the armed forces.

Radakin also states that the UK will not fight any war alone, as it is a member of NATO, but at the same time, it is lagging behind other allies in terms of defence spending.

"When we say we will lead in NATO, when we pledge to stand with Ukraine, when we promise defence co-operation with our Gulf friends and their enormous sovereign wealth funds, are we credible both in the eyes of our allies and our adversaries?" he asks.

He explains that, even with US support for NATO, the UK will need to increase defence spending to at least 5% of GDP in order to maintain its current level of defence capability. Among the issues Radakin highlights is how recent political developments have eaten into defence budgets.

He calls on Andy Burnham to act prudently in allocating expenditure to strengthen defence capabilities.

Background:

• It was reported that the UK government intends to publish a long-awaited defence spending plan, which has led to disputes and resignations among officials, despite Prime Minister Keir Starmer's planned resignation.
• The planned level of funding has been criticised by both government officials and the military. Richard Knighton, the UK Chief of the Defence Staff, sent a letter to Prime Minister Keir Starmer over concerns that the level of defence spending proposed by the government is insufficient. The funding shortfall for modernising the Royal Navy, the Army and the Royal Air Force has been estimated at no less than £28 billion (€32 billion).

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