US Navy Secretary Carlos del Toro urged the British government to “reassess” the size of its military.
Del Toro said it was “absolutely necessary” for Western democracies to invest in defense amid emerging threats globally.
“Given the threats that exist today, I think it’s important that the UK reassess its current position,” del Toro told reporters after speaking at London’s Royal United Services Institute (Rusi). ” he said.
Del Toro’s comments came as the outgoing Chief of Staff (CGS), General Sir Patrick Saunders, said there were only 74,000 soldiers in the British Army.
He said Britain needed to be strengthened with at least 45,000 reservists to ensure it was ready for war if NATO triggered Article 5 against a Russian attack.
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Former NATO commander warns it’s time to ‘think the unthinkable’ and ‘carefully consider conscription’
General Patrick said the issue of government funding to establish “Europe’s most lethal army” was “hindering”.
He said more than 80 per cent of the British Army’s £44 billion 10-year defense plan had not yet been committed to the British armed forces.
Downing Street defended del Toro’s comments about defense spending and the size of the British military.
Downing Street referred to the fact that the UK is the White House’s “partner of choice” regarding airstrikes carried out against Iranian-backed Houthi militants in Yemen.
The Prime Minister’s spokesperson said: “The UK is the second largest defense spender in NATO and the largest defense spender in Europe.”
“The Navy, Army and Royal Air Force all play an active role globally, operating across every ocean and continent.
“Our military capabilities are also the reason why we are chosen as the United States’ partner in defending against Houthi attacks in the Red Sea.
We will do all this while remaining a world-leading supporter of the defense of Ukraine.
“During the Prime Minister’s visit to Kyiv this month, we announced a £2.5 billion increase in military funding.”
On Thursday, Britain’s former NATO commander, General Sir Richard Sherif, said it was time to “think the unthinkable” and urged the government to introduce conscription.
He said there had been years of defense cuts in the UK and called on the government to “take further and more careful consideration of conscription”.
General Sir Richard, former Deputy Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces, said the government’s current defense budget needed to be further expanded.
A former top NATO commander told Sky News: “For most professional military personnel, and I consider myself one of them, conscription is absolutely abhorrent.”
“Traditionally and culturally, the British military has relied on long-serving, highly professional soldiers with a wealth of experience, and that’s what we all really want.”
Britain has been cutting its defense budget since the end of the Cold War, and warned: “I think we need to get past a lot of our cultural constraints and assumptions and think about things that we can’t think straight about.”
“I think we need to go further and carefully consider conscription.”
