British Army No Longer Able to Defend UK, Its Allies - US General Warns

By Staff, Agencies

The British army is no longer regarded as a top-level fighting force, a senior US general reportedly told defense secretary Ben Wallace amid fresh concerns over the UK’s military spending.

Senior Tory MP Tobias Ellwood, chair of the defense select committee, said the army was in “dire state” and called on Rishi Sunak’s government to reverse cuts to the army because we are at “war in Europe.”

It follows a warning by defense sources that budget cuts have seen the army decline in the eyes of world leaders. “You haven’t got a tier one – it’s barely tier two,” the US general told Wallace, according to Sky News.

The defense budget would need to be increased by £3bn a year to address the US concerns, sources told the broadcaster – with one warning that the armed forces were “unable to protect the UK and our allies for a decade.”

Raising the US general’s reported remarks in the Commons, Ellwood said they tallied with his own committee’s findings that the Ukraine war had “exposed serious shortfalls in the war-fighting capability of the British army.”

Admitting to budget concerns, defense minister James Heappey said Sunak and chancellor Jeremy Hunt both understand that the army was in “urgent need” of greater spending.

Heappey said “serial under-investment in the army over decades has led to the point where the army is in urgent need of recapitalization. The chancellor and the prime minister get that, and there is a budget coming.”

Wallace – who has previously pushed No 10 and the Treasury for more money – repeated his frank assessment that the military had been “hollowed out and underfunded” when challenged by Labour over cuts.

John Healey, the shadow defense secretary, told the Commons: “When Labour left government in 2010, the British army stood at over 100,000 full-time troops and we were spending 2.5 per cent of GDP on defense.”

Responding, Wallace: “I’m happy to say that we have hollowed out and underfunded. Will he do the same? Or will he hide behind petty party politics?”

After the unnamed US general’s assessment to Wallace, defense sources called on the government to additionally ease rules restricting the UK’s ability to buy weapons and ammunition.

Defense sources called on Sunak to not fail in his role as “wartime prime minister” by going through with plans to shrink the size of the army further.

The army is currently 76,000 strong but would 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 are not due to be renewed for several years, while 30% of troops on “high readiness” are reservists.