Category Archives: Defence policy

Size of UK’s nuclear submarine fleet could double under Aukus plans

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First of new vessels expected to be seaworthy by the end of 2030s, with Australia receiving theirs in early 2040s

The UK’s nuclear-powered submarine fleet could double in size as plans were revealed for the new “Aukus” vessels to be based on a British design.

In a bid to counter the growing threat from China, the UK’s prime minister, Rishi Sunak, vowed alongside his US and Australian counterparts to stand “shoulder to shoulder” to protect peace in the Indo-Pacific given its implications for security across the world.

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Australia will put nuclear safety ‘above all else’ as it builds submarines, vice admiral says

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In interview with Guardian Australia, Jonathan Mead moves to allay concerns as Aukus partners prepare to announce detailed plans

Australia will put nuclear safety “above all else” as it begins the “generational challenge” of building and operating nuclear-powered submarines under the Aukus pact, the government’s top adviser has said.

Vice Admiral Jonathan Mead has moved to allay concerns – both at home and across the region – about nuclear safety as Australia, the US and the UK prepare to announce their detailed plans within days.

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British-led fund to provide weapons for Ukraine plagued by delays

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Only £200m of £520m allocated and bidders complain ‘low-bureaucracy’ process is frustrating

A British-led £520m international fund to provide fresh weapons for Ukraine and intended to be “low bureaucracy” has been plagued by delays, with only £200m allocated amid warnings that the rest of the funding will not provide arms at “the front until the summer”.

Bidders complain that the process, run by the UK’s Ministry of Defence, working with six other European countries, has been frustrating with deadlines missed – and the MoD conceded that awarding contracts “inevitably took time”.

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Defence review at risk of delay amid funding row

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Original review published in 2021 but Ukraine war demonstrates need for investment

A planned refresh of the government’s integrated review of defence and foreign policy is at risk of being delayed until after the budget in mid-March amid a row over funding and a lack of clarity over its aims.

It had been expected that the fresh look at Britain’s geopolitical strategy, originally announced by Liz Truss and inherited by Rishi Sunak, would be released on 7 March – more than a week before the 15 March annual financial statement.

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Ukraine war ‘over’ unless EU boosts military support, says top diplomat

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Foreign affairs chief tells Munich security conference provision of ammunition has to be solved quickly

The war with Ukraine will be over unless the EU finds a way in weeks to speed up the provision of ammunition to Ukraine, Josep Borrell, the EU foreign affairs chief, warned on the final day of the Munich security conference.

He said a special meeting of EU defence ministers slated for 8-9 March will provide a chance for countries to offer ammunition from their existing stocks, adding it is taking up to 10 months for European armies to order and receive a single bullet.

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Sunak urges Europe to use weapons stockpiles to help Ukraine war

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UK prime minister says Kyiv needs more ammunition, air defence, heavy armoury and longer range weapons

European countries should stop hoarding weapon stockpiles and give them to Ukraine to allow Kyiv to make a decisive assault, Rishi Sunak has told the Munich security conference.

The British prime minister said Ukraine needed more ammunition, air defence, heavy armoury and longer range weapons, amid frustration in London and Kyiv that some European powers are refusing to hand over arms on the basis they cannot afford to reduce their own defences.

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Nicola Sturgeon denies ‘short-term pressures’ behind resignation as Scottish first minister – UK politics live

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Latest updates: Scotland’s first minister says she has ‘wrestled’ with decision for weeks

SNP MP Stewart McDonald described Nicola Sturgeon as “the finest public servant of the devolution age” amid reports of her expected departure as Scottish first minister.

“Nicola Sturgeon is the finest public servant of the devolution age,” the MP for Glasgow South tweeted, sharing a photograph of himself with Sturgeon.

Absolutely gutted about this. Nicola has been an incredible leader.

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UK rehearsing economic fallout scenarios if China invades Taiwan

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Exclusive: Whitehall officials planning strategy to tackle disruption to global supply chains in the aftermath of an attack

Whitehall officials have strategised a series of scenarios about the economic fallout that could follow if China were to invade Taiwan, sources have told the Guardian.

Concerns about the major disruption to global supply chains and consequences of any coordinated western response have been examined by civil servants as part of what is said to be routine “forward-scanning” exercises.

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Tories urge Jeremy Hunt to reverse army cuts in forthcoming budget

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Planned 4% reduction in troop numbers should be abandoned in light of Ukraine war, say MPs and officials

Senior Tories are calling on Jeremy Hunt to abandon further cuts to the army by raising defence funding at next month’s budget, amid growing unease at the state of Britain’s military capabilities.

The chancellor has been urged by MPs to ensure the number of troops is held at the current level of about 76,000, instead of reducing it to 73,000 by 2025.

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UK fighter jets always on standby, Sunak says after US shoots down objects

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Prime minister will do ‘everything it takes’ to keep country safe as Britain conducts security review

UK fighter jets are on standby to shoot down Chinese spy balloons if any are spotted in British air space, the prime minister has said.

Rishi Sunak said Typhoon planes were ready at all times in case the UK came under threat from balloons such as the one US officials said they shot down last week.

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Russia’s plans to seize eastern Ukraine could take two years, says Wagner boss

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Yevgeny Prigozhin’s comments suggest Moscow is preparing for a long conflict, as Volodymyr Zelenskiy renews appeal for fighter jets

• Ukraine war live

The boss of the Russian mercenary Wagner group said it could take Russia two years to seize the entire east of Ukraine in a rare interview that suggests at least some key figures in Moscow are gearing up for a protracted conflict.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, who has emerged from the shadows to become a high-profile figure since the start of the war, suggested Russia’s focus was now on capturing the rest of the Donbas region it has not occupied since the start of the war nearly a year ago.

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Thousands of Afghans who helped British forces ‘remain stranded by UK’

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Damning report by MPs urges government to ensure safe passage for interpreters and contractors at risk from Taliban

Several thousand Afghans who helped British forces before the withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 remain stranded and at risk from the Taliban because of failures of the government’s settlement schemes, according to a damning report by MPs.

The defence select committee’s report urged the government to set out what action it is taking to ensure safe passage to the UK for at least 4,600 Afghans, including interpreters and contractors, who worked for UK forces.

A lack of preparedness for the number of potential applicants resulting in under-resourcing, backlogs in applications, and errors in decision making.

Poor communications with applicants causing stress to them and increasing correspondence to MPs and others.

Unclear and frequently changing eligibility criteria.

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Labour to pledge rapid action on replenishing UK weapon stocks

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Party wants to shift MoD procurement to ‘urgent operational footing’ with stockpiles depleted by gifts of military aid to Ukraine

Labour will seek to shift defence procurement to an “urgent operational footing” to help buy fresh arms for Ukraine and replenish stockpiles depleted by previous gifts of military aid if it wins the next election.

The opposition party believes it has taken too long for the Ministry of Defence to buy fresh munitions, citing a near year-long wait to agree a contract to replace the 4,000-plus Nlaw anti-tank bazookas sent to Kyiv before and in the early stages of the war.

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Head of Russia’s Wagner group says his troops have taken control of Soledar

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Yevgeny Prigozhin poses with some of his mercenaries in Ukrainian town renowned for its salt mines

The head of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group has claimed his forces have completed the takeover of the Ukrainian town of Soledar, which if confirmed would mark Moscow’s first major battlefield success since last summer.

“Wagner units have taken the whole territory of Soledar under control,” said Yevgeny Prigozhin in an audio message released on his Telegram channel late on Tuesday.

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UK to develop next-generation fighter jets with Italy and Japan

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Rishi Sunak says defence deal for Tempest means ‘outpacing those who seek to do us harm’

Britain will work to develop next-generation fighter jets with Italy and Japan, Rishi Sunak has announced.

The prime minister said the defence partnership will ensure the UK and allies are “outpacing and outmanoeuvring those who seek to do us harm”.

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British army could be overstretched by stepping in during strikes, says Labour

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Party also questions whether troops would ‘bail out failing services rather than provide emergency back-up’

Labour has complained that the British army is being used to “bail out failing services” in the UK, at a time when the threat from Russia remains acute and British forces are being withdrawn from Estonia.

John Healey, the shadow defence secretary, has written to the defence secretary, Ben Wallace, to warn that troops “may be diverted from essential defence tasks” to plug staffing gaps caused by strikes in Border Force, the NHS and elsewhere.

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Heappey hints he will quit if PM drops pledge on defence spending

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UK defence minister says government still plans to spend 3% of GDP on defence by 2030

The UK’s armed forces minister, James Heappey, has suggested he would resign if the prime minister did not fulfil her leadership promise to raise defence spending, after the new chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, said no department would be immune to cuts.

Hunt said the full reversal of Liz Truss’s economic plans meant “decisions of eye-watering difficulty”, and suggested nothing was off the table, including defence and health spending and the pensions triple-lock.

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UK to issue ‘threat alert’ over China’s attempts to recruit RAF pilots

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Former and serving pilots told not to disclose sensitive information, in attempt to ‘mitigate risk’ of schemes

British defence intelligence is to issue a rare “threat alert”, warning that China’s military is trying to recruit serving and former RAF jet pilots to help train its own air force with generous recruitment packages.

Officials expressed “concern and disapproval” of these schemes because they posed “a threat to UK and western interests”. Although they are not explicitly banning pilots from providing training, they aim to take steps to “manage the risk”.

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No signs Russia is preparing to use nuclear weapon, says GCHQ boss

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UK spy chief says Kremlin does not appear to be engaged in preliminary steps despite Putin’s threats

The head of GCHQ has said the UK spy agency has not seen any indicators that Russia is preparing to use a tactical nuclear weapon in or around Ukraine despite recent bellicose statements from Vladimir Putin.

Jeremy Fleming, speaking on Tuesday morning, said it was one of GCHQ’s tasks to monitor whether the Kremlin was taking any of the preliminary steps needed before a tactical weapon was being made ready.

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Revealed: Liz Truss personally supported cuts to NHS and doctors’ pay

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Article by Tory hopeful arguing NHS ‘cannot be put on pedestal’ shows she fully backed 2009 cost-cutting pamphlet

Liz Truss personally supported cuts to the NHS, arguing the service “cannot be put on a pedestal” in an article in which she also criticised the “inexorable” rise in doctors’ pay.

The newly emerged opinion piece was written by Truss to support a thinktank report she co-authored that called for patients to be charged for GP appointments and doctors’ pay to be slashed by 10%.

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