US general warns British military ‘can no longer defend UK and allies’

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The British Army is no longer seen as a top-tier fighting force, a senior US general has reportedly told Defense Secretary Ben Wallace amid fresh concerns about the UK’s military spending.

Tobias Ellwood, the senior Conservative MP, and chair of the Defense Select Committee, said the army was in “deplorable condition” and called on Rishi Sunak’s government to roll back cuts to the military because we are in “a war in Europe”.

It comes after a warning from defense sources that the budget cuts had led to the military’s decline in the eyes of world leaders. According to Sky News, the US general told Mr Wallace: “You didn’t get a first class – it’s hardly a second class.”

Sources told the broadcaster that the defense budget would need to be increased by £3 billion a year to address US concerns – with one caveat that the armed forces “have been unable to protect the UK and our allies for a decade”.

Raising the US general’s remarks to the House of Commons, Elwood said they were consistent with his own committee’s findings that the Ukraine war “exposed serious deficiencies in the fighting capability of the British Army”.

Defense Secretary James Hebe acknowledged budget concerns and said Mr Sunak and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt understood the military was “badly in need” of bigger spending.

“The lack of serial investment in the military over decades has led to the point where the army is in dire need of recapitalization. The chancellor and prime minister understand that, and there is a budget coming,” Hebe said.

Wallace – who has previously pushed Number 10 and the Treasury for more money – repeated his blunt assessment that the military had been “swept away and underfunded” when Labor challenged the cuts.

John Healy, the shadow defense secretary, told the House of Commons: “When Labor left government in 2010 the British Army stood in at over 100,000 full-time soldiers and we were spending 2.5 per cent of GDP on defence.”

In response, Mr. Wallace: “I am happy to say we are hollow and underfunded. Will he do the same? Or will he hide behind petty party politics?”

Following the unnamed US general’s assessment of Mr Wallace, defense sources have called on the government to relax rules restricting the UK’s ability to buy arms and ammunition.

Defense sources have called on Mr Sunak not to fail in his role as a “wartime prime minister” by pushing ahead with plans to reduce the size of the military further.

The army currently numbers 76,000, but it will shrink to 73,000 if downsizing plans go ahead. Among other concerns, the majority of armored vehicles were built 30 to 60 years ago and will not be renewed for several years, while 30 percent of the troops on “high readiness” are reservists.

Defense Secretary Ben Wallace leaves a Cabinet meeting earlier this month

(AFP/Getty)

However, some defense officials said the UK is well on its way to developing its capabilities. “It’s now in a better cycle with a lot of new investment over the next 10 years,” a source told Sky News. “As long as they don’t screw up procurement, they’re well on their way to being a modern army.”

Number 10 also insisted that the UK was still an elite military power. Asked if Mr Sunak still believes the UK is a “first-rate” fighting power, his spokesperson said: “Yes”, adding that the PM believes the UK military has “the equipment and the ability to tackle the threats they face”.

Sunak was the first world leader to send tanks to Ukraine, and the United States and Germany followed suit. Speaking at a question-and-answer event in County Durham on Monday, the prime minister said Britain should be “really proud” of the action it has taken in the face of Russian aggression in Ukraine.

We were the first major country [send tanks]. This has led other countries, such as America and Germany, to say they will do the same.

“This is really important because it will provide the support Ukraine needs to make more headway against Russia during the first part of this year,” Sunak added.

A government spokesperson said the UK “has the largest defense budget in Europe and we made the largest investment in the UK defense industry since the Cold War in 2020”.

They added: “We are ensuring our armed forces have the equipment and capabilities they need to tackle the threats of tomorrow, including through a fully funded £242 billion 10-year equipment scheme.”

Meanwhile, the Kremlin said Boris Johnson told a “lie” when the former prime minister said Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared to threaten him with a missile strike.

Asked about Johnson’s comments on a new three-part series on BBC Two, Russian government spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the British politician’s account was incorrect. Or, more precisely, it was a lie.

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