Britain 'woefully unprepared' for war as 'reckless' Starmer told to wake up to Russia threat

The Prime Minister has announced a major cut in defence spending of more than £500million, with military hardware including frigates, helicopters and amphibious assault ships set to be scrapped.

But Col Ingram - a counter-terror expert who was one of the most senior intelligence officers in the British Army - blasted the Government for being “naive” about the threat facing Britain as 2025 dawns.

He said: “I am concerned by the lack of national preparedness.

“How would central and local Government function in a time of war with heavy infrastructure damage?

“Our Army is woefully small and poorly equipped for warfighting.

“But what concerns me above all is the naivety of our politicians.

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“The Government has its head buried deep and doesn’t want to listen to the reality of what is happening across the globe.

“Ministers must step up and start to prepare for war now.”

UK Storm Shadow missiles are reportedly being fired by Ukrainian soldiers into mainland Russia, with other equipment being sent by the UK to Ukraine, placing the UK in the crosshairs of Vladimir Putin.

Col Ingram added: “The defence industrial base is not currently capable of building the equipment and ammunition needed for war, in the rapid time frames it would be needed.

“We rely on our Nato allies too heavily, but many of them are unprepared also.”

Shadow Minister for Defence Mark Francois told GB News: “History tells us, again and again, that appeasing dictators does not work.

“If we want to deter a wider conflict with Putin, we need to increase defence spending, to spend a bit more now rather than a vast amount more, in both blood and treasure, later.

“That’s why Labour’s repeated refusal to put a date on when we will increase our defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP is so dangerous.”

The Rayleigh & Wickford MP added: “Bluntly, we are not going to deter Vladimir Putin with a bunch of meaningless platitudes.”

The ongoing war in Ukraine has seen the UK commit to spending £12.8billion of which £7.8billion is for military hardware with the UK sending both lethal and non-lethal equipment to Ukraine, including tanks, missiles and air defence systems.

Even prominent Labour figures have called on the Government to increase defence spending in response to escalating threats from Russia and across the world.

Former Defence Secretary, Geoff Hoon, said: “We and other European countries need to increase defence spending in a way that avoids duplication.

“Those plans need to focus as well on what are the threats that we might have to deal with, all of this is being considered as part of the current Defence Review.”