Category Archives: Defence policy

UK committed to ‘protecting innocent lives’, says Shapps after Houthi attack

Posted on by

British warship HMS Diamond targeted in Red Sea but no injuries or serious damage sustained

Grant Shapps said the UK remained “undaunted” after Iran-backed Houthis targeted HMS Diamond in the Red Sea during their latest round of strikes.

The defence secretary’s comments came after the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said that the Royal Navy warship HMS Diamond “deployed its Sea Viper missile system” to destroy the drone deployed by the Yemen-based Houthi group on Saturday. It said there were no injuries to the crew and no damage to the ship.

Continue reading...

US planning to station nuclear weapons in UK amid threat from Russia – report

Posted on by

Missiles could be placed at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk in case of potential war between Nato and Russia

The US is planning to station nuclear weapons in the UK for the first time in 15 years amid a growing threat from Russia, according to a report. Warheads three times as strong as the Hiroshima bomb would be located at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk under the proposals, the Telegraph reported.

The US previously placed nuclear missiles at RAF Lakenheath and removed them in 2008 after the cold war threat from Moscow receded. Pentagon documents seen by the newspaper reveal procurement contracts for a new facility at the airbase.

Continue reading...

Army chief says people of UK are ‘prewar generation’ who must be ready to fight Russia

Posted on by

Ministry of Defence clarifies it has no plans for conscription after Gen Sir Patrick Sanders says UK should take steps to place society on war footing

Downing Street has dismissed a warning from the head of the British army that the UK public must be prepared to take up arms in a war against Vladimir Putin’s Russia because today’s professional military is too small.

Rishi Sunak’s spokesperson said the prime minister did not agree with comments made by Gen Sir Patrick Sanders in a speech on Wednesday, and was forced to insist there would be no return to national service, which was abolished in 1960.

Continue reading...

UK sends UN experts photographs of North Korean shipments to Russia

Posted on by

Exclusive: Report shows Russian ships loading at North Korean port, amid accusation that Pyongyang supplies missiles and shells

The UK has provided satellite photographs of North Korean cargo shipments to Russia to a panel of UN experts as part of an attempt to trigger an official investigation into arms deals in violation of international sanctions.

North Korea has been accused of supplying ballistic missiles and hundreds of thousands of artillery shells to the Russian government for its war in Ukraine since Vladimir Putin met with Kim Jong-un in Russia’s far east in September.

Continue reading...

Rishi Sunak: UK willing to take further military action against Houthis

Posted on by

Prime minister addresses MPs hours after Yemen-based group fires on another container ship in Red Sea

Rishi Sunak has said the UK is willing to take military action against Houthi rebels again, hours after the Yemen-based group fired another missile at a container ship in the Red Sea.

The prime minister addressed MPs on Monday for the first time since the UK took part in airstrikes on the Houthis on Friday night, which he said destroyed 13 targets at two sites, including drones, an airfield and a cruise missile launcher.

Continue reading...

UK ‘will wait and see’ before deciding on further Houthi strikes

Posted on by

Grant Shapps says UK has no interest in wider Yemen conflict as Rishi Sunak prepares to address MPs

The UK has no interest in taking part in any wider conflict in Yemen but is “waiting to see what happens” before deciding whether further military strikes against Houthi forces might be needed, the defence secretary has said.

Discussing the US-led strikes on the Yemen-based rebels in the early hours of Friday, which were aimed at stopping Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red Sea, Grant Shapps said the aims of the military operation were always limited.

Continue reading...

Rishi Sunak says UK acted in ‘self-defence’ with Yemen airstrikes

Posted on by

PM defends lawfulness of military action against Houthis as MPs call for parliamentary scrutiny

The prime minister has said the UK acted in “self-defence” with military strikes in Yemen intended to “de-escalate tensions and restore stability to the region”, as he faced calls for greater parliamentary scrutiny.

Speaking from Ukraine, Rishi Sunak said that in the face of this aggression “we will always stand up for the rule of law” after a series of attacks by Houthi rebels on shipping in the Red Sea.

Continue reading...

Britain to send patrol ship to Guyana amid Venezuela border dispute

Posted on by

HMS Trent will take part in exercises with Guyana as tensions over mineral-rich Essequibo region raise anxieties

A Royal Navy patrol ship will be sent to Guyana in a show of British support for the Commonwealth country.

The South American country is in a dispute with Venezuela over a mineral-rich border region.

Continue reading...

West must rearm in the face of Russian threat, urges Poland’s foreign minister

Posted on by

Military production cannot remain on peacetime footing while war in Ukraine goes on, Radosław Sikorski says after visit to Kyiv

Poland’s new foreign minister has called on European countries to boost long-term plans for military production after returning from his first foreign visit, to neighbouring Ukraine.

“Wars are not decided by tactical engagements but by industrial capacities, and we are behind the curve,” said Radosław Sikorsk, in an interview in Warsaw, a few hours after returning from Kyiv on Saturday.

Continue reading...

Australia says AI will be used to help track Chinese submarines under new Aukus plan

Posted on by

Defence minister Richard Marles and counterparts from the UK and US say new technologies will be deployed by militaries

Artificial intelligence, drones, and deep space radar are among the technologies that will be used by Australia and its Aukus allies to counter China’s aggression in the Pacific.

Australia’s defence minister, Richard Marles, met with his counterparts from the United States and United Kingdom – Lloyd J Austin and Grant Shapps – in California on Saturday to announce the second “pillar” of the Aukus deal.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

British troops could deploy to Ukraine for first time to train soldiers, says Grant Shapps

Posted on by

Defence secretary says proposal being discussed would reduce reliance on UK and other Nato members’ bases

The new defence secretary, Grant Shapps, said he has held talks with army leaders about deploying British troops within Ukraine for the first time for a training programme.

Shapps, who met Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, for talks in Kyiv earlier this week, said the proposal being discussed would reduce the reliance on the UK and other Nato members’ bases.

Continue reading...

Top issues in Grant Shapps’ in tray as new UK defence secretary

Posted on by

Ben Wallace’s successor faces major issues on several fronts including Ukraine and a British military seeking more investment

Grant Shapps’ appointment comes at a time of the largest war in Europe since 1945, with Britain a key strategic partner for Ukraine as it seeks to kick out the Russian invaders. A central part of the job is public and private diplomacy, with the UK particularly keen to maintain its position as a bridge between Kyiv, always seeking new weapons, and an often cautious White House, already increasingly mindful of the looming 2024 election battle, most likely with Donald Trump.

Once Boris Johnson had been ousted from Downing Street, Kyiv looked to Wallace as an increasingly important figure, with the former defence secretary central in efforts to find a pathway for Ukraine to eventually join Nato and in ensuring long-term military support continues. Shapps will want to keep the long-term door to Nato membership open, but he may have give Kyiv candid advice and help it temper its not always realistic lobbying.

Continue reading...

Saudis ask to join UK, Italy and Japan’s joint air combat programme

Posted on by

UK-backed move could help spread cost of developing fighter jet and drones, but may prove controversial

Saudi Arabia has asked the UK, Japan and Italy to be made a full partner in their joint effort to build the next generation of fighter jets, in a move backed by the British government.

Companies from the UK, Japan and Italy are working together to build a new fighter jet and other systems such as drones under the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP), also known as Tempest. The programme aims to deliver the first planes by 2035, a tight turnaround.

Continue reading...

Head of British army could quit in row over further cuts

Posted on by

Gen Sir Patrick Sanders is said to have told defence secretary that the army cannot take more reductions

The head of the British army could resign, allies say, amid a fierce row over further proposed cuts to land forces in the run-up to a special defence review responding to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Interviews have already begun to replace Gen Sir Patrick Sanders, who has served only a year as chief of the general staff, and friends of the military leader say he may quit even sooner if the defence secretary, Ben Wallace, imposes further cuts.

Continue reading...

Russian forces face shortage of tanks as counteroffensive creeps forward

Posted on by

Ukraine forces slowly pushing back Putin’s troops, claims Kyiv, aided by western hardware

Russia’s forces are suffering a shortage of tanks, the country’s defence minister has admitted, as Ukraine’s offensive in the south and east continued to push back the frontline with the help of western hardware.

Sergei Shoigu, on a visit to a military factory in western Siberia, said that production of armoured vehicles needed to be increased as Kyiv talked up the heavy losses being inflicted on the occupying enemy.

Continue reading...

Rishi Sunak arrives in Japan to announce defence pact

Posted on by

PM also says Japanese businesses have invested £18bn in UK as he visits country for G7 summit

Rishi Sunak has arrived in Tokyo to announce a new defence partnership with Japan and support £18bn of private business deals, ahead of the G7 summit aimed at addressing the threats of Russia and China.

Before the gathering of world leaders in Hiroshima on Friday, Sunak is meeting Japan’s prime minister, Fumio Kishida, to discuss more defence cooperation in the face of China’s increasing belligerence towards Taiwan.

Continue reading...

US China hawks to press UK minister for tougher line on Beijing

Posted on by

Republican-led group expected to lobby Ben Wallace at informal lunch meeting during Westminster visit

A Republican-led group of China hawks from the US Congress will visit Westminster on Friday where they are expected to meet the defence secretary, Ben Wallace, for lunch and press for the UK to take a tougher line on Beijing.

The 11-strong delegation is led by the Republican congressman Mike Gallagher, who chairs a high-profile, newly created China committee. Some fear a strident anti-Beijing tone will alienate centrist and left-leaning politicians in the UK.

Continue reading...

Rishi Sunak seeks to build stronger defence with Japan at Tokyo G7

Posted on by

PM expected to unveil Hiroshima accord at meeting with Japan’s Fumio Kishida amid fears of China’s rising militarisation

Rishi Sunak will seek to build a stronger defence with Japan amid fears of China’s rising militarisation as he travels to Tokyo and Hiroshima for the G7 summit.

The prime minister will be accompanied by his wife, Akshata Murty, on their first official visit since he entered No 10 for the meeting of leaders from the US, France, Germany, Canada, Japan, Italy and the EU.

Continue reading...

UK sending long-range Storm Shadow missiles to Ukraine, says defence minister

Posted on by

Britain donating arms capable of striking targets in occupied Crimea as Kyiv prepares counteroffensive against Russia

Britain has become the first western country to provide Ukraine with the long-range Storm Shadow cruise missiles that Kyiv wants to boost its chances in a much-anticipated counteroffensive, prompting a threat from the Kremlin of a military response.

Hours after Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said he needed more western weapons to be confident of a victory this summer, Ben Wallace, the UK defence secretary, told MPs that the missiles – which cost more than £2m each – were “now going in, or are in the country itself”.

Continue reading...

Defence spending in western and central Europe tops last year of cold war

Posted on by

Stockholm International Peace Institute’s annual report finds UK was region’s biggest spender in 2022 at $68.5bn

Defence spending in western and central Europe has surpassed that of the last year of the cold war, an annual report has found, as military expenditure across the world hit an all-time high of $2.24tn (£1.8tn) last year.

The outbreak of war in Ukraine has triggered the steepest increase in military expenditure in Europe in three decades, according to the Stockholm International Peace Institute (Sipri).

Continue reading...