Former British Army chiefs warn of lack of urgency in defence spending plans

Former heads of the British Army have warned of a lack of urgency in the defence spending plans unveiled in this week’s Budget.

It comes after Defence Secretary Wes Streeting insisted the UK Government is doing “as much as we can, as fast as we can” to increase defence funding.

At the Budget on Wednesday, Chancellor John Healey filled a £4.7 billion black hole in the defence investment plan, a blueprint that takes Britain’s defence spending to 2.7% of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2027.

He also committed to spending 3% of GDP on defence by 2030 as a step towards meeting Britain’s commitment to Nato to spend 3.5% by 2035.

But the Chancellor said details of where this cash will come from will be left until the spending review, pencilled in for next autumn.

Lord Dannatt, who was chief of the general staff between 2006 and 2009, told The Telegraph: “Once again the Government is using ‘creative accounting’ instead of finding real money.

“Russia is serious, we are not. Deterring aggression by being prepared for war is the best way to keep this country safe. Find the money now, don’t kick the can down the track for another year.”

General Sir Peter Wall, who was in the post from 2010 to 2014, warned that the armed forces are “hobbled by dismal resources” and said investment to rebuild them is “long overdue”.

“Three per cent by 2030 won’t deliver proper capability uplift much before 2035. We have no idea how or when that money will be spent. It’s an aspiration, not a commitment.

“The lack of strategic urgency is shocking and will only embolden our opponents.”

Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi, chairman of the Commons Defence Committee, had told MPs the wait for more detail is too long.

He said key decisions on defence spending have “lamentably been delayed” until next year’s spending review and there is a “cost to inaction”.

Mr Streeting told BBC Breakfast: “I think we are doing as much as we can, as fast as we can. The biggest sustained increase in defence spending since the end of the Cold War.”

He also signalled that other areas of UK Government spending could face constraints as a means of filling defence coffers.