Head of Armed Forces 'confident' in sending British soldiers to face down Russia in Ukraine
The head of the Armed Forces has said he would be “confident” sending British soldiers to face down Russia in the event of a peace deal in Ukraine.
Sir Keir Starmer confirmed last week that a British and French military force, as the Coalition of the Willing, would be deployed to act as a deterrent against Vladimir Putin if a ceasefire can be agreed.
Questions have been raised as to whether the Armed Forces are capable of standing up to Russia in a battlefield situation, with the current level of funding and capability.
This included the Defence Committee, with chair Tan Dhesi saying it had “raised serious concerns about the UK’s readiness for modern warfare”.
However, the Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton told MPs yesterday that “we won’t deploy our armed forces if we’re not happy that they’re going to be safe”.
Giving evidence to the Defence Committee, he said: “I’m confident, having been closely involved in the work on the Coalition of the Willing planning, that we have a means of meeting the requirements that have been set, and this additional funding will reduce the risk.”
However, he conceded there was “no such thing as zero risk in operational environments”.
Sir Keir Starmer has pledged to raise defence spending from 2.3 per cent to 2.5 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2027.
He said it will then increase to 3.5 per cent by 2035, in a line with a Nato commitment last year.
However, just before Christmas, reports alleged that Sir Richard told Sir Keir and Chancellor Rachel Reeves that the Ministry of Defence was facing a £28bn shortfall.
This was not denied by the Government, and reportedly led to a delay in the Defence Investment Plan.
Sir Richard told the committee: “I thought you might ask me about the speculation in the media about the cost of the program, and speculation over particular numbers, and that’s exactly what it is: it is speculation.”
He added: “I will tell you that we did meet the Prime Minister in December, and we did talk about a number of issues associated with defence, including the Defence Investment Plan, but the material that was discussed at that meeting was classified secret, and so I’m not going to talk about that in public.”
Sir Richard’s comments come as Donald Trump threatened to launch missile strikes against Iran, with the repressive regime engaged in a bloody crackdown on protesters.
The authorities in Tehran have cut off the internet to try and suppress the demonstrators, with activists saying more than 570 people have been killed.
Asked whether Britain would support the US if it decided to strike Iran, Business Secretary Kyle told Sky News: “Well, there’s a lot of ifs in the question itself, so we have to see how this unfolds.
“We need to understand specifically what Donald Trump and America is proposing.”
He said “the people of Iran should get the government they choose and the government of Iran should not, in any way, be cracking down in a murderous way which we’ve seen so far”.
Mr Kyle added: “This is about us supporting people of Iran in their time of need so that the people of Iran can have their voices heard and be the masters of their own destiny.”