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Defence secretary John Healey has said Britain must “prepare for war” but admitted ahead of the publication of the government’s strategic defence review that he was struggling to halt a decline in the size of the army.
Healey also refused on Sunday to say if the Treasury had guaranteed extra funding to take British spending on defence to 3 per cent of GDP in the next parliament, again referring to the target as “an ambition”.
In a series of interviews ahead of Monday’s publication of the SDR, which will lay out military spending plans and priorities for the coming years, Healey said Britain was facing multiple threats, adding: “We prepare for war in order to secure the peace.”
He did not deny a report in the Sunday Times newspaper that Britain wanted to purchase US-made fighter jets capable of firing tactical nuclear weapons, to counter the growing threat posed by Russia.
Asked whether Britain was looking at different ways to launch nuclear weapons — aside from its Trident nuclear submarine deterrent — Healey said: “I won’t get into discussions that need to remain private”.
The review, launched by Sir Keir Starmer last year, is not expected to set out fresh commitments for defence spending.
Instead it is likely to reiterate a commitment made by the prime minister in February to increase the defence budget to 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2027 and to 3 per cent in the next parliament, after US President Donald Trump called on European countries to boost military spending.
While Healey on Sunday said he had “no doubt” Britain would increase overall defence spending to 3 per cent of GDP in the next parliament, he declined to say whether chancellor Rachel Reeves was backing the plan.
But he said the goal was “an ambition”, rather than a firm commitment. Britain will increase defence spending to 2.5 per cent by 2027 by cutting the overseas aid budget.
“I’ve no doubt that we’ll hit that ambition of meeting 3 per cent in the next parliament,” Healey told the BBC.
Led by former Nato-secretary general Lord George Robertson, the SDR is likely to set out targets for the size of the army, which will be closely watched to see if it goes above the current target of 73,000 for 2025, most recently reaffirmed in 2023.
As of April, however, the army’s full-time trained strength had declined to about 70,860.
Asked about his target of having 73,000 soldiers, Healey said his first job was to stop people leaving.
“There has been a 15-year recruitment and retention crisis in our forces,” he said. “We have narrowed that gap but we still have more people leaving than joining. Our first job is to reverse that trend.
“Then we want to see in the next parliament an ability to start increasing numbers.”
Summing up the threat to Britain and the west, he said: “We’re in a world that is changing now. We’ve got to respond to a world of growing threats.
“It’s growing Russian aggression, it’s those daily cyber attacks, it’s new nuclear risks and it’s increasing tension in other parts of the world as well.”
Earlier Healey announced Britain would procure up to 7,000 UK-built long-range weapons and spend £1.5bn on building at least six new munitions factories. “This is part of our readiness to fight if required,” he added.
Last week the government announced it would unify cyber and electronic operations under a single command as part of a sweeping reorganisation of high-tech warfare.
The SDR was led by Robertson with support from ex-White House Russia adviser Fiona Hill and ex-deputy chief of the defence staff General Sir Richard Barrons. They handed in the final iteration of their review in early March.
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