Weapons maker’s full-year pre-tax profits top £3bn and it expects sales of more than £30bn next year
Britain’s biggest weapons manufacturer, BAE Systems, has reported record orders as the European defence industry gears up for increased spending sparked by the Ukraine war.
The company, a member of the FTSE 100, said it expected sales next year to top £30bn, as it reported annual profits before interest and tax of more than £3bn for the first time in 2024.
Continue reading...Exclusive: More than 200 civil society groups say governments have failed to prevent planes from being used to violate international law
More than 200 organisations worldwide have called on nations involved in producing F-35 fighter jets to “immediately halt all arms transfers to Israel” amid fears they have failed to prevent the planes from being used to violate international law.
The letter, signed by 232 civil society organisations, was sent on Monday to government ministers in Australia, Canada, Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, the US and the UK as the war in Gaza reached 500 days.
Continue reading...Spokesperson says Keir Starmer’s previously stated view that military action needs consent of MPs has not changed
Keir Starmer has not ruled out holding a parliamentary vote on committing UK troops to a peacekeeping role in Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire, after calls from some within Labour and the Lib Dems.
Downing Street hinted that a US-backed guarantee would be needed in order for the UK to send ground troops, saying it was an “essential” part of any ceasefire deal with Russia.
Continue reading...Jonathan Reynolds says Britain has not given up on persuading the US to allow Ukraine to join Nato
The UK hopes to act as a bridge between Europe and Donald Trump’s US, the business secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, has said before what could be a crucial week of diplomacy in deciding Ukraine’s future.
With Keir Starmer expected to travel to Paris on Monday for an emergency summit of European leaders, in advance of a possible trip to Washington the following week, Reynolds said the UK had still not given up on persuading the US to allow Ukraine to join Nato.
Continue reading...US defence secretary suggests cutting number of American troops in Europe could even be part of a deal with Russia
The US defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, has said “everything is on the table” to bring peace to Ukraine and suggested reducing the number of American troops in Europe could be part of any deal.
European leaders are reeling from several abrupt US moves since Wednesday in relation to the Ukraine war and the continent’s security, which has been underpinned by the US since Nato was formed at the end of the second world war.
Continue reading...With member states keen to link quotas to any deal, António Costa says defence and fisheries ‘are different things’
The EU will not let the question of fishing rights derail a pact with the UK on security and defence, the president of the European Council has said.
The comments from António Costa, who took over as the European Council president in December, is a boost for Keir Starmer, amid frustration among UK officials over EU insistence on linking a security deal to other demands, notably fishing rights.
Continue reading...PM wants to ‘see all allies stepping up’, saying Donald Trump’s threat of sanctions has rattled Vladimir Putin
Keir Starmer has called on European leaders to put more economic pressure on Russia, saying Donald Trump’s threat of sanctions has left Vladimir Putin “rattled”.
Before a meeting in Brussels on Monday, the prime minister said it was necessary to “see all allies stepping up – particularly in Europe” when it comes to inflicting economic harm on Russia, and argued it would help bring about peace by ending the Ukraine war sooner.
Continue reading...Hearing likely in May, seven months after government decided to carve out jet parts from arms export ban
A high court judge has ruled a judicial review must be quickly heard on government claims that national security entitles ministers to sell parts for F-35 jets to Israel even though Britain accepts that there is a risk they will be used in breach of international humanitarian law.
The hearing will most likely take place in May – nearly seven months after the Labour government made the contentious decision to carve out F-35 parts from the ban on arms exports to Israel.
Continue reading...Downing Street says PM’s call with Trump was ‘warm’ and did not include tariffs, Greenland, defence-spending or Ukraine
The hearing has stopped for a short break. Heather Hallett, the chair, tells Badenoch that her evidence will be finished by lunchtime.
Keith is now asking Badenoch about the fourth report produced by the Race Disparity Unit. It was produced in December 2021.
Relevant health departments and agencies should review and action existing requests for health data, and undertake an independent strategic review of the dissemination of healthcare data and the publication of statistics and analysis.
Government is not necessarily great at delivering these systems. They tend to be big boondoggles for the private sector, but there are private sector companies that can deliver this. There need to be caveats around that.
Continue reading...Some say recent suspected sabotage of transatlantic cables serving Europe and UK means Ireland must be able to defend itself
They are the bedrock of the internet, keeping everything from TikTok to emergency services, business, banking systems and political and military communications running smoothly.
But deep under the sea, the network of cables around British and Irish shores are being considered as increasingly attractive targets for military, terrorist or criminal actors after several incidents in the Baltics where internet cables were severed and internet communications were disrupted.
Continue reading...Deteriorating security environment and incidents in Baltic have forced military reassessment in northern Europe
Submarines normally operate in secret, lurking in the deep. So when the British defence secretary, John Healey, authorised a Royal Navy Astute-class attack sub to surface close to the Russian “spy ship” Yantar south of Cornwall in November, it was unusual enough.
What was even more notable, however, was that the minister went on to tell the House of Commons on Wednesday what he had done. It was, Healey said, conducted “strictly as a deterrent measure”, as was his decision to accuse the Kremlin of spying on the location of undersea communication and utility cables that connect Britain to the world.
Continue reading...UK defence chiefs see no need to recruit extra sailors as maritime force will become hybrid with uncrewed systems
The Royal Navy of the future will be dominated by robots, drones and uncrewed vessels, leading chiefs to conclude there is no need to try to recruit extra sailors as part of the forthcoming defence review.
Adm Sir Ben Key, the first sea lord, believes the navy has to focus on recruitment and retention rather than seeking more personnel numbers because crew sizes are inevitably falling as military technology evolves.
Continue reading...Inquiry hears elite forces had a ‘kill all males on target whether they posed a threat or not’ policy in Afghanistan
Afghans who were killed by members of the SAS in Afghanistan were described dismissively as having been “flat packed” according to revealing testimony given by a former member of the elite force’s sister unit to a public inquiry.
The soldier, known only as N1799, said he had been party to a conversation with a member of the SAS in 2011 who had served in Afghanistan, in which he had been “shocked by the age and methods” used to kill Afghans.
Continue reading...Alistair Carns says a casualty rate similar to Russia’s invasion could lead to the army being ‘expended’ within six to 12 months
The British army would be wiped out in as little as six months if it was forced to fight a war on the scale of the Ukraine conflict, a defence minister has warned.
Alistair Carns said a rate of casualties similar to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine would lead to the army being “expended” within six to 12 months.
Continue reading...While Putin conducts his missile diplomacy, restrictions around the use of long-range weapons may help Kyiv
In Kyiv, as autumn turns fast turns to winter, Ukrainians in the government describe a vacuum before the arrival of Donald Trump in the White House on 20 January that will be filled by more war as both sides jockey for advantage. “Trump has said he wants to end the war within 24 hours. Nobody is more interested in this topic than Ukraine,” a senior official told the Guardian.
“But the problem is, for the moment, everything is just speculation. Will it be the first peace plan, the second plan, the first variant, the 10th variant?” they said. Ukraine is in “a difficult but not catastrophic position” and has little choice but to fight on and perhaps show Trump that backing Kyiv is not a losing bet.
Continue reading...Yantar intelligence ship was seen operating drones in an area containing subsea energy and internet infrastructure
A Russian spy ship has been escorted out of the Irish Sea after it entered Irish-controlled waters and patrolled an area containing critical energy and internet submarine pipelines and cables.
It was spotted on Thursday east of Dublin and south-west of the Isle of Man but Norwegian, US, French and British navy and air defence services initially observed it accompanying a Russian warship, the Admiral Golovko, through the English channel last weekend.
Continue reading...British and French leaders will discuss Ukraine and defence amid fears for future of Nato after Trump’s re-election
Keir Starmer will join Emmanual Macron in Paris for the French Armistice Day service in a pointed show of European solidarity days after Donald Trump’s re-election, with Ukraine and defence on the agenda for private talks between the two leaders.
The visit will have a symbolic element with Starmer becoming the first UK leader to attend France’s national commemoration event since Winston Churchill in 1944.
Continue reading...Lord West says Republican victory is chance to show Britain is willing to prioritise military by allocating 3% of GDP
Keir Starmer is being urged to consider an emergency cash injection into defence and to accelerate Britain’s planned review of its military capabilities before Donald Trump’s return to the White House.
Senior defence figures are now assessing how Trump’s victory will shape a strategic defence review (SDR) that was already under way in Whitehall, whose findings are due to be reported in the spring. The SDR comes alongside a crucial review of public spending.
Continue reading...Foreign Office argues scientific study into modern effects of nuclear war not needed
The UK was one of three countries to vote against creating a UN scientific panel on the effects of nuclear war because, the Foreign Office argued, the “devastating consequences” of such a conflict are already well known without the need for a new study.
The UK, France and Russia were the only countries to vote on Friday night against a UN general assembly committee resolution drafted by Ireland and New Zealand to set up an international scientific inquiry to take a fresh look at the multifaceted impact of nuclear weapons use.
Continue reading...Past threats former president – and present Russian ones – have spurred Europe to invest in self-defence, but as conflicts rise the alliance still looks vital
Politeness and convention dictate that European leaders try to sound noncommittal when asked whether a Donald Trump presidency would hurt Nato. But despite the rhetoric about “Trump-proofing”, Nato cohesion will be at risk from a hostile or isolationist Republican president, who has previously threatened to leave the alliance if European defence spending did not increase.
“The truth is that the US is Nato and Nato is the US; the dependence on America is essentially as big as ever,” said Jamie Shea, a former Nato official who teaches at the University of Exeter. “Take the new Nato command centre to coordinate assistance for Ukraine in Wiesbaden, Germany. It is inside a US army barracks, relying on US logistics and software.”
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