The whole country must step up to ensure the nation can continue to operate in a crisis amid growing threats against the UK, the head of Britain’s armed forces will warn.
Making the case for a society-wide approach to “defense and deterrence”, Chief of the Defense Staff Sir Richard Knighton would say the situation is “more dangerous than I have known during my career”.
He will call for “skills and money even if not soldiers, sailors or airmen” to invest in building national resilience.
The new head of MI6 is set to warn that Britain is already on the front line against Russia and argues that the UK is facing an “age of uncertainty” as the rules of conflict are being rewritten by hostile actors.
Chief of the Defense Staff Sir Richard Knighton confirms the deployment (Lucy North/PA) (PA Wire)
In his first public speech, Blaise Metrevelli will address the grave threat posed by an “aggressive, expansionist and revisionist” Russia.
And in a speech at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) on Monday, Sir Richard is expected to say: “Our armed forces need to be ready to fight and win at all times – that’s why readiness is such a priority.
“But resilience is also about our resilience to these threats, it’s about how we use all our national strengths, from universities, industry, the rail network to the NHS.
“This is about our defense and resilience being a top national priority for all of us. An ‘all in’ mentality.
“And that will require people who are not soldiers, sailors or aviators to invest their skills — and their money — in innovation and problem solving on behalf of the nation.”
Sir Richard will warn that the Russian leadership has made clear its desire to “challenge, limit, divide and ultimately destroy NATO”.
Discussing the threats Britain faces, he will say: “The situation is more dangerous than I have known during my career and the response requires more than simply strengthening our armed forces.
“A new era for defense doesn’t just mean rising up for our military and government—as we do—it means rising up for our entire nation.”
He will announce £50 million for new Defense Technical Colleges of Excellence, which will offer short courses aimed at ensuring rapid access to training for new and existing personnel in the security sector.
The Defense Ministry said it would also “discuss the need to rebuild our defense capabilities and national infrastructure that emphasizes resilience”.
On defense spending, Sir Richard is expected to say: “Looking at the prospect of the largest sustained increase in defense spending since the end of the Cold War, I find myself in a position unlike any of my predecessors during my career.
“And that’s because the price of peace is increasing.”
Meanwhile, speaking from inside MI6 headquarters in Vauxhall, London, Ms Metreveli said: “Putin has no doubts, our support is permanent. The pressure we apply on behalf of Ukraine will continue.
Sir Richard will call for a society-wide approach to ‘defence and deterrence’.
“Exporting anarchy is not a bug in the Russian approach to international engagement; and we should be prepared for it to continue until Putin is forced to change his calculus.”
He is expected to argue that “the front line is everywhere” as a result of the Kremlin’s use of hybrid warfare tactics, including sabotage, sabotage and cyber attacks.
It comes after the head of the Royal Navy warned earlier this month that Britain must “step up” on defense or risk losing its advantage in the Atlantic, as Russia spends billions on its capabilities at sea.
In a speech in London, First Sea Lord General Sir Gwen Jenkins said there was “no room for complacency” while Moscow invested heavily in its Northern Fleet.
Sir Gwynne said there had been a spike in “Russian intrusion into our waters” – activity which is seen in the presence of spy ships such as the Yantar near UK waters – but warned: “It’s what’s going on under the waves that worries me the most.”
The government announced earlier this year that UK defense and security spending would reach 5 per cent of GDP by 2035.
Last week, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte warned Europe of being “Russia’s next target” and said countries should “prepare for the scale of war that our grandparents or great-grandparents endured”.
Sir Richard is expected to say: “We are moving into uncertainty, and that uncertainty is deepening, our adversaries are becoming more capable and unpredictable, and unprecedented technology change is manifesting itself.”
