UK prioritising welfare rather than defence, former Army chief says

The former head of the British Army has said the UK is too focused on welfare spending rather than funding defence despite the threat posed by Russia, as he claimed Nato is not sufficiently backing Ukraine.

Lord Houghton of Richmond, who served as chief of defence staff between 2013 and 2016, called on the Government to do more as he said decision-making still resembled “peacetime planning”.

He described the financial picture for the armed forces as “dire” and added he believed “uncomfortable announcements” on funding lie ahead.

The crossbench peer said that without proper backing for Ukraine it could lead to a ceasefire that would humiliate the country and embarrass western governments while leaving Russia bullish.

He also hit out at slow Nato rearmament and Donald Trump’s unwillingness to decisively intervene.

Speaking in a debate in the House of Lords on the war in Ukraine, Lord Houghton said: “(Vladimir Putin) will see Britain as Americans proxy. He will have a fully mobilised set of armed forces, an untouched suite of strategic capabilities, a fully mobilised war economy and the window of opportunity to act whilst Nato, certainly the UK, at the moment, still prioritises welfare benefits over national security.”

Meanwhile, he added that without proper funding, none of the three defence policy objectives – spending on Ukraine, making the UK resilient to hybrid threats and properly integrating forces would succeed.

He said the Government’s pledge of £10 billion of investment as part of the strategic defence review contained £6 billion of savings, despite a defence “black hole” of funding existing.

“All three of these policy objectives need huge investment,” Lord Houghton said. “Without such investment, we potentially fail both Ukraine and Nato, we expose society to hybrid threats and we completely undermine the only real hope of credibility that the defence review offers our armed forces.”

He continued: “Hard investment choices have forever been the challenge of peacetime planners. But we should not be engaged in peacetime planning.

“We face an outcome to the current conflict that leaves behind a humiliated Ukraine, a residually dangerous Russia and an impoverished Britain, devoid of threat awareness, with an unfunded [strategic defence review].

“I have worried for the last 15 years that when it comes to national security the government of the day has consistently put their perceived duty to reassure society above their duty to respond to geopolitical realities.

“We need to do more.”

Attacks

Meanwhile, he said the United States, Britain and other Ukrainian allies were restricting Kyiv’s war effort to Ukrainian territory, fearful that attacks on Russia would enrage the Russian president.

He said: “The Ukraine conflict continues to be a limited war. Limited by both means and the geography. These limitations are ones imposed by the United States and by Nato more widely.

“They almost exclusively constrain Ukrainian activity to Ukrainian soil and deny Ukraine the capabilities required to carry the fight to Russia.

“They do so arguably, understandably, in order to avoid provoking Russian escalation. Hence a preference for financial sanctions as opposed to Tomahawk missiles. But such choices do limit Ukraine’s ability to hurt Russia in ways that might bring the war to a conclusion on acceptable terms.”

Former head of Nato Lord Robertson of Port Ellen warned about the threat of a confrontation for Nato allies with Russia.

High stakes

The Labour peer said: “The stakes in use in eastern Ukraine, as has already been said, are high and they go well beyond the geography of the Donbas.”

He added: “As the strategic defence review soberly says, I quote, ‘Defence’s wider way of working remains suited to peacetime era’.

“But we no longer live in a peacetime era. And, in contrast, our adversaries are in attack mode.”

Defence minister Lord Coaker said the last 12 months had seen Nato strengthened and praised the widespread backing for the Government’s position on supporting Ukraine.

The Labour peer said the picture in Ukraine was broadly unchanged. A fellow peer told the debate on Friday that Russia had only captured less than 1% of Ukrainian territory in the last year.

He cited United Nations figures which said there was a 40% increase in the number of civilians injured and killed by Russian attacks compared to last year.

He also reminded the Lords that Yvette Cooper announced a £142 million in extra funding for Ukraine during a visit last month that will help protect civilians from Russia’s drone and missile attacks on cities.

Military package

The Government’s overall military package is worth £4.5 billion to Ukraine this year, including for drones, artillery shells, and missiles. More than 60,000 Ukrainian troops have now been trained in the UK.

“[Mr] Putin has still not achieved any of his overall strategic war aims,” Lord Coaker said. “Russian forces continue to ruefully wage his illegal war, continue to inch forward in a full frontal assault on Ukrainian sovereignty, international laws and norms.”

He added: “I’m proud as a UK defence minister to say at the beginning of this debate that as we approach Remembrance Sunday, that this country has always, always stood up for freedom, democracy and human rights.

“We will never forget that, or the sacrifice of so many, a sacrifice that continues to inspire us today as those values are once again threatened by Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.”

Victim

Lord West of Spithead warned that if Putin is successful in defeating Ukraine he would be emboldened and “invade his next victim”, with increased Nato defence spending needed to stop the aggression.

The Labour peer and former defence minister said: “Our primary object must be to keep Ukraine in the war until the damage to Putin, financially and militarily, makes him recognise he must reach a peace accord.

“What exactly that comprises, how it’s implemented, and European involvement, I think, is downstream work to that primary purpose.

“What is needed now is commitment to major arms supplies and long-range weapons.

“The important message to Putin, I think, is also delivered through Nato increasing defence spending.”

He added: “We must succeed in thwarting Putin’s illegal and appalling attack on Ukraine, or events could gain a momentum of their own, leading, I believe, to a major world war.”

Foreign minister Baroness Chapman of Darlington said: “We’ve made a historic commitment to spend 5% of GDP on national security.

“This is a generational increase underlining the UK’s commitment to national security and our leadership in Nato.”