Grant Shapps said he is “working hard” to ensure the military does not run out of strength, amid warnings that soldiers are retiring faster than there is room to replace them.
As MPs debate the UK’s military action against the Yemen-based Houthi rebels, the Defense Secretary stressed that the UK is taking steps to ensure it has “the talent it needs for its armed forces”.
Ministers have highlighted rising tensions around the world in recent weeks, with Mr Shapps warning of a move towards a “pre-war world”.
He was asked about Britain’s preparations for future wars, as he was given the opportunity to address MPs about two waves of airstrikes against Houthi militants in recent weeks.
Rebels have been attacking container ships transiting the Red Sea since November, claiming they have ties to Israel amid a conflict with Hamas.
Britain disputes this, with Mr Shapps telling MPs that the attack was a “global problem” and that it “endangered” the key trade route linking Europe and Asia via the Suez Canal. I did,” he said.
He claimed that a second wave of airstrikes on Monday, in which the UK took part, had further reduced the Houthis’ “ability to hold our seas to ransom”, adding: It was designed in that context. ”
But former Tory minister Marc Francois has raised concerns about reports of a recruitment crisis within the military as Britain prepares for threats to the country amid rising global risks.
Francois said: “I fully support the government’s actions to protect freedom of navigation on the high seas in accordance with international law, but only the people can do that, and if not the people who maintain typhoons and typhoons. There is no one on board the warship.
“As the Secretary of State knows, we are currently retiring three times faster than we are hiring.
“Could he now make a commitment to come to the House of Commons before Easter and issue a statement on what we are doing in terms of retaining our vital military personnel? I know.”
The Secretary of Defense responded: “He will be pleased to know that I have recently been meeting with people who he believes can help solve this problem.
“I, like many Western armies and militaries in fact, are working hard to ensure that we have the men and women we need in our armed forces who are skilled to the appropriate level and who can take on this challenge. .”
Mr Francois’ draft warning comes as outgoing Chief of Staff General Sir Patrick Saunders said in a speech that Britain should “train and equip” its “national army” for a potential ground war with Russia. It was uttered when he said.
Conservative MP Richard Drax, from South Dorset, said: “Unfortunately, the benefits of peace continue to suffer and the Royal Navy is severely short of ships and sailors, leaving our security at risk. It’s putting us at risk.”
He said he wanted “no more arbitrary targets set” for defense spending, and instead the military needed to “do what it needs to do to play its vital role in NATO and protect us and our client nations.” He said the question should be asked.
He said if the government needs more money than it can afford, it should “raise tax revenue by cutting taxes,” which would grow the economy and free up more money for defense. .
Elsewhere in the debate, senior Tory MP James Gray warned against calls for the government to take a vote before any future military action.
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey was among the MPs who called for a vote on the RAF attack, arguing that it gave the action legitimacy in the Commons.
But Mr Gray claimed the vote would “eviscerate” the Commons and make it difficult for MPs to scrutinize the government.
He said: “Once we vote on something, as happened with Labor in Iraq in 2003, it becomes extremely difficult to criticize what the government is doing afterwards.
“It is right to scrutinize the government and we should not vote on these issues. We will make a statement, debate and vote after the introduction.
“The moment we allow ourselves to be forced into a whip vote before deployment, we have, by definition, eviscerated this House.
“It’s completely wrong from a national defense standpoint, and it’s completely wrong from a Congressional oversight standpoint.
“We demand the right to scrutinize our government. We can only do that if we don’t vote for war.”
Meanwhile, Labour’s former shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, warned that the House of Commons was “not taking its responsibility seriously” given “we are at real risk” in the Middle East, saying MPs He called for a vote on military action.
“If we were to take military action, I would like to take some responsibility as a member of the House of Representatives, and I would like to be able to go back to my constituents and explain how I fulfilled that responsibility,” he said. That’s why I said this.” We believe we should vote. ”
