British Army 'not ready' to fend off invasion, Defence Secretary warns - 'Far worse than we thought!'

The MP for Rawmarsh and Conisbrough added that ministers found the state of the armed forces was "far worse than we thought."

It comes after the UK and Germany signed a defence pact with the aim of closer cooperation in the face of a growing threat from Russia, with German submarine-hunting planes operating from RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland and arms giant Rheinmetall set to open a factory producing artillery gun barrels using British steel.

Defence Secretary Healy told Politico: "We’ve got to not just be capable of defending our Nato nations, but more importantly, got to be more effective in the deterrence that we can provide against any future aggression.

"Our forces need to be able to innovate. We need to be able to take the new technologies and some of the lessons from Ukraine and make what we do more lethal and therefore a stronger deterrence."

When asked about comments by the head of the Army, General Sir Roly Walker, that the UK must be ready to fight a war in three years, Healey said: "The UK, in keeping with many other nations, has essentially become very skilled and ready to conduct military operations.

"What we’ve not been ready to do is to fight. And unless we are ready to fight, we are not in a shape to deter."

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS

• Tory sparks fury after slamming Labour for 'not consulting trans people' on public toilets
• Rachel Reeves set to tear up Britain’s debt rules amid fears she will unleash £50bn borrowing spree
• Jenrick demands Premier League drop rapper after ‘poisonous’ comment

Healey said former Defence Secretary Ben Wallace told him in the House of Commons last year that Conservative Governments had "hollowed out and underfunded the armed forces” over their 14 years in office.

A Government spokesman said: “This Government will always do what’s required to defend the country.

"The UK’s armed forces are amongst the best in the world and offer a 24/7 defence of the UK – operating alongside our Allies and partners to prepare for any event.

"The Strategic Defence Review will look at the threats we face and the capabilities we need so that our armed forces are better ready to fight, more integrated and more innovative.”

It comes as JohnHealey said it was "highly likely" there were North Korean troops in Russia but it was not yet clear whether they were being sent to the front line of the war with Ukraine.

He said that as well as being an escalation of the war in Europe, there was also an “indivisible link” between tensions in the Korean peninsula and the wider Pacific region.

German defence minister Boris Pistorius said "we are checking the implications with regard to international law" of the development but "it is a kind of escalation."