Is Britain ready for war? December 6, 2024 The government’s decision to scrap a number of defence capabilities has left our military’s ability to deploy in an emergency in serious doubt, says William Freer Last month, the Secretary of State for Defence, John Healey, announced a suite of military capabilities to be cut to redirect a portion of the defence budget. The assets [...]
UK needs to innovate at wartime pace, defence secretary says December 2, 2024 The UK needs “innovation at a wartime pace”, the defence secretary has said as he announced a new strategy for the industry. As he launched a defence industrial strategy, which is being developed alongside the government’s strategic defence review, John Healey said war game exercises to test the military’s capabilities will be carried out with [...]
Defence secretary refuses to confirm whether UK missiles were used against Russia November 21, 2024 The defence secretary has insisted he “won’t be drawn on operational details” of the conflict in Ukraine amid reports UK-made missiles have been fired into Russia. Russia’s military said it has shot down two UK-made Storm Shadow missiles, following reports that debris from the weapons had been discovered in the country’s Kursk region, which borders [...]
UK minister urges de-escalation after Israel and Hezbollah exchange fire August 25, 2024 A major war in the Middle East is “a real danger”, a cabinet minister has warned following an escalation of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah overnight. Early on Sunday, the Israeli military launched what it described as “pre-emptive” strikes against the militant group in southern Lebanon, saying it had detected plans to attack Israel. Hezbollah, [...]
Military sent to help as Lammy tells UK citizens ‘leave Lebanon now’ August 3, 2024 Military personnel and consular experts have been deployed to the Middle East to help British nationals in the region as ministers warned the “situation could deteriorate rapidly”.