From Al Mayadeen English – The British armed forces would only last “about five days” in a war if one were to break out, a senior Tory MP claimed on Friday in light of mounting pressure on the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, to increase the country’s defense spending in next month’s budget.
High inflation rates and the cost of replacing equipment sent to Ukraine had created a “really grim picture” and led to highly depleted military supplies, Conservative chair of the Commons Defense Committee Tobia Ellwood told the Financial Times.
According to Ellwood, the army is facing a massive shortage of surface-to-air and anti-tank missiles, two of the most supplied arms to Ukraine from the United Kingdom.
“I’m very concerned that the message coming out of the Treasury is indicating that we must brace ourselves for further real terms cuts because inflation is rising,” he said.
Hunt pledged to consider upping the UKs military spending as a response to an update of the government’s 2021 foreign and defense policy that is due soon.
This comes amid an increase in lobbying for more military spending in London, with defense officials discussing cost-cutting measures.
Meanwhile, the condition of the British army has become a domestic political issue, with Defense Secretary Ben Wallace, a prominent lobbyist for increased military spending, telling parliament earlier in the month that the United Kingdom “hollowed out and underfunded” its forces.
The Ministry of Defense, however, has dismissed the claims that the UK army has grown meager, stressing that “These are speculative rumors, which always circulate before a Budget and even more so in the run-up to the integrated review. We don’t comment on speculation.”
Britain has so far provided more than £2.3bn of military aid to Ukraine, and the government has also allocated £560mn to the MoD to replenish depleted UK weapons stockpiles, the Financial Times reported.
Wallace has reportedly been told by a senior US general that the British army is not a top-level fighting force, Sky News reported in late January.
In light of the war in Ukraine, decades of downsizing are reported to have resulted in a decrease in warfighting capabilities, which must be restored as soon as possible.
Defense sources were quoted on Sky News as saying, “bottom line… it’s an entire service unable to protect the UK and our allies for a decade.” The sources added the that UK’s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak risks failing in his job as “wartime Prime Minister” unless the situation is drastically altered.
They advised increasing the defense budget by at least £3 billion per year, with no future reductions in the size of the army, and that peacetime procurement standards be waived to buy weapons swiftly.
Sky News argued that the armed forces would run out of ammunition “in a matter of days” if called upon to combat. It’s a crying shame that the United Kingdom cannot protect its skies against the level of missile and drone attacks that Ukraine is subjected to.
It would take the army five to ten years to produce a war-fighting division of 25,000 to 30,000 troops supported by tanks, artillery, in addition to helicopters.
Approximately 30% of UK personnel on high readiness are reservists who are unable to mobilize within NATO timeframes – “so we’d show up under strength.”
Satirically, the UK is playing a critical role in providing Kiev with weapons, with the Prime Minister becoming the first leader to vow to send Western tanks – a leadership role he seemed eager to emphasize when he turned to social media after Germany and the US followed suit.
“Really pleased they’ve joined the UK in sending main battle tanks to Ukraine,” Sunak said in a tweet last Wednesday.
“We have a window to accelerate efforts to secure lasting peace for Ukrainians. Let’s keep it up,” he added.
Despite this aggressive tone, Sunak omitted to include closing capability gaps in his military forces as one of his top five goals in his maiden policy speech as prime minister in early January amid war in Ukraine.
NATO ‘Fears UK Too Drained to Take Over Leadership of Rapid Reaction Force’
MOSCOW (Sputnik) – NATO military leaders believe that the UK armed forces will not be able to take over the leadership of the alliance’s rapid reaction force this year due to the exhaustion of its military resources caused primarily by the country’s assistance to Ukraine, British media reported, citing sources in the UK Defense Ministry.
The United Kingdom is set to inherit the leadership of NATO’s rapid reaction force from Germany in late 2023. However, the alliance has asked Berlin to remain at the head of the bloc’s force for another year since London is unable to provide 5,000 soldiers required, the newspaper reported.
“There are serious problems with ammunition shortages and other kit which is partly due to underspending – but also because of the amount of ammo and other ordnance we are supplying to Ukraine. Our forces are also stretched because of the extent to which they are training Ukrainian forces,” UK media quoted one of the sources as saying.
The UK is now in its most vulnerable position since the Second World War, since the British army is the smallest it has been in four centuries, and the navy is less than half what it was during the Falklands War in 1982, the news outlet reported.
In late January, Tobias Ellwood, who heads the UK parliamentary Defense Select Committee, told a different British media outlet that the UK army was “in a dire state” despite two decades of multi-billion dollar investments.
UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace also confirmed then that the UK army had “fallen behind its peer group” and needed investments. Despite this fact, Ellwood stated that the UK, already involved in the Ukraine conflict, needed to “face Russia directly rather than leaving Ukraine to do all the work.”
The UK is among Western countries actively supplying Ukraine with various types of weapon systems and training the Ukrainian military personnel amid Russia’s special military operation. On January 15, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced that his country would send 14 of its Challenger 2 tanks to Kiev. Later, the UK Defense Ministry said that Ukrainian troops had begun to learn how to operate British tanks.
Bible Prophecy Unfolding –
In Ezekiel 38 we are told that God will put “hooks into their jaws” (hunger) and bring them against the mountains (govts.) of the 12 tribes of Israel who have insufficient defences because of dis-armament… The lands of unwalled villages (walls of untempered mortar) without bars or gates (no defences because of defence cuts after the “so-called” peace dividend), when they (the politicians – foolish prophets) say peace, peace and there was NO peace.
Then, returning to the Apocalypse/Revelation chapter 6 again, in verse 12 onwards we are told that there was a great “earth-quake” (upheaval of the downtrodden masses) and the SUN (British Throne of David) became black (loses all of its power), and the MOON (British Commonwealth) became as blood and the STARS of heaven (U.S.A.) fell unto the EARTH (downtrodden people), even as a FIG tree (the Jews) casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind (in Ezekiel 13 v 11 we are told that “with a stormy wind will I rend/break down the wall of untempered mortar”).
Ezekiel 13:10 Because, even because they have seduced My people, saying, Peace; and [there was] NO peace; and one built up a wall (U.N.), and, lo, others daubed it with untempered [mortar]:
13:11 Say unto them which daub [it] with untempered [mortar], that it shall fall: there shall be an overflowing shower; and ye, O great hailstones, shall fall; and a stormy wind shall rend [it].
13:12 Lo, when the wall is fallen, shall it not be said unto you, Where [is] the daubing wherewith ye have daubed [it]?
13:13 Therefore thus saith the Lord “I AM”; I will even rend [it] with a stormy wind in my fury; and there shall be an overflowing shower in Mine anger, and great hailstones in [My] fury to consume [it].
13:14 So will I break down the wall (U.N.) that ye have daubed with untempered [mortar], and bring it down to the ground, so that the foundation thereof shall be discovered, and it shall fall, and ye shall be consumed in the midst thereof: and ye shall know that I [am] the “I AM”.