Category Archives: Military

UK will be ‘leading European nation’ in Nato, defence secretary pledges

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John Healey acknowledges likely shift of US focus to China and says Britain and EU must raise military spending to counter Russia

Britain will be “the leading European nation” in Nato under a Labour government, the new defence secretary, John Healey, pledged in an interview at the Nato summit in Washington DC – though spending may have to rise significantly if the UK is to remain ahead of Germany.

The cabinet minister, appointed last Friday, acknowledged that European countries within Nato would have to take on more of the burden of defending the west against Russia – regardless of whether Joe Biden or Donald Trump won the US presidential election in November.

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Labour will not boost military spend without economic growth, says minister

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Comments come as PM begins two-day US visit to urge Nato member countries to increase defence spending

The Labour government will not increase spending on the military unless it is also able to grow the economy, the armed forces minister has said, as Keir Starmer comes under pressure to say when Britain’s defence spending will hit 2.5% of GDP.

Luke Pollard said on Wednesday the government wanted to hit the target promised by the former prime minister Rishi Sunak, but would not be able to do so without economic growth.

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Runaway horses set to steal show at trooping the colour on Saturday

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Cameras expected to be trained on three Household Cavalry steeds that galloped through London in April

The bearskins, marching bands and palace balcony appearances that ensure trooping the colour is an annual crowd-puller will face competition when this year’s military spectacle takes place on Saturday.

King Charles and Queen Camilla will be there, though in a small concession to his cancer treatment, Charles will review the King’s Birthday Parade from an Ascot landau carriage rather than on horseback.

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British paratroopers dropping in French field for D-day event asked for passports

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French officials insist on checking paperwork of 400 troops landing in Normandy for 80th anniversary commemoration

Eyebrows were raised at the Ministry of Defence when French immigration and customs insisted on checking the paperwork of 400 British paratroopers immediately after they dropped into fields near Saneville, Normandy on Wednesday.

Some felt the French were trying to make a point in response to the UK’s decision to leave the EU and, while immigration checks for British troops on exercise abroad are routine, doing so at a public commemoration is deemed exceptional.

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Foreign Office ‘quiet diplomacy’ futile in overseas arrest cases, says expert

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Academic tortured in UAE tells families of Britons arrested in controversial circumstances abroad to go public promptly

Families of Britons arrested in controversial circumstances abroad should raise concerns promptly in public because Foreign Office “quiet diplomacy” is not effective, an expert has warned after the arrest of a former British Royal Marine in Dubai.

Matthew Hedges, a British academic who was detained and tortured in the United Arab Emirates in 2018, said the case of Matt Croucher, a military veteran held in the country for seven months, also showed how far the “international influence of the UK had disappeared” in the Gulf region.

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‘Courage and solidarity’: King Charles pays tribute to veterans of D-day

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Royals, politicians and military leaders begin two days of events to mark 80th anniversary of Normandy landings

The king has paid tribute to D-day veterans at a commemorative event in Portsmouth marking the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings.

Charles said their “stories of courage, resilience and solidarity” move, inspire and “remind us of what we owe to that great wartime generation – now, tragically, dwindling to so few”.

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Ex-Royal Marines reservist held in Dubai on spying charges

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Former lance corporal Matt Croucher was arrested seven months ago, accused of ‘illegally accessing telecommunications’

A former Royal Marines reservist awarded the highest medal for gallantry has reportedly been held in Dubai since November after being accused of spying.

The former lance corporal Matt Croucher, 40, was awarded the George Cross, which ranks alongside the Victoria Cross as the highest decoration for acts of bravery, in 2008 after risking his life and saving others by throwing himself on a grenade in Afghanistan.

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Houthis say at least 16 killed in UK and US strikes in Yemen

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Rebel group says strikes, aimed at underground facilities and missile launchers, killed and wounded civilians

A joint US and UK air raid on Houthi missile launchers in Yemen has killed 16 people and injured more than 40, according to the Houthi health ministry.

There is no independent way of confirming the death toll, but if accurate it would represent the single largest loss of life since the US and UK started their campaign to degrade the Houthi military in January.

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Tory national service policy would leave UK’s poorest areas worse off, IFS warns

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Thinktank says proposal to pay for scheme by scrapping shared prosperity fund would downgrade efforts to level up country

Rishi Sunak’s election pledge to introduce mandatory national service would leave the UK’s poorest regions millions of pounds worse off, a thinktank has warned.

The prime minister announced last weekend that if he was re-elected, every 18-year-old would have to spend time in a competitive, full-time military commission or spend one weekend a month volunteering in “civil resilience”.

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Kenya begins public hearings into alleged abuses by UK troops

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British soldiers stationed in Kenya have been accused of rights violations and offences including murder

Kenya has launched public hearings into allegations of human rights violations and abuses of power by British troops based in the former colony.

The British Army Training Unit Kenya (Batuk) is an economic lifeline for many in the central town of Nanyuki, where it maintains a permanent base, but soldiers stationed there have also been accused of committing offences including murder.

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Sunak struggles to control Tory party on chaotic fifth day of election campaign

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Prime minister campaigns in Buckinghamshire as his military service plan is criticised and MP defects to Reform

Rishi Sunak struggled to keep control of his fractured party on a chaotic fifth day of the Tory election campaign, as one MP defected to Reform and a minister criticised the prime minister’s pledge to bring back national service.

Sunak was in Buckinghamshire as he sought to get back on the front foot after a bruising start to the snap election, with Tory insiders increasingly worried about his strategy and performance.

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RAF grounds Spitfire fleet after death of pilot in Battle of Britain air display

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Announcement raises questions about aircraft’s participation in national D-day event in Portsmouth

The RAF has grounded a fleet of Spitfire planes after the death of a pilot over the weekend, raising the prospect of the legendary aircraft being absent from the 80th anniversary of the D-day landings next month.

Sqn Ldr Mark Long – a Typhoon pilot based at RAF Coningsby – was killed in a crash while flying a Spitfire belonging to the Battle of Britain Memorial Fleet as part of a memorial event.

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Rishi Sunak rejects claim he plans to move to California if he loses election – as it happened

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Prime minister dismisses speculation after Tory peer Zac Goldsmith became latest to hint at planned relocation

Starmer is now running through his six first step promises.

Starmer says he is fed up with hearing Rishi Sunak says the UK has “turned the corner”.

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William and Kate lead tribute to RAF pilot killed in memorial event crash

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Airman died at the scene after second world war-era plane came down near RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire

The Prince and Princess of Wales have led tributes to an RAF pilot who was killed in a Spitfire crash while taking part in a Battle of Britain memorial event.

The airman, who has not yet been named by police, died at the scene from his injuries after the second world war-era plane came down near RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire at about 1.20pm on Saturday.

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Sunak promises to bring back national service for 18-year-olds

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Labour lambasts youth policy as ‘desperate and unfunded’ and designed to make youngsters fix government-created problems

Rishi Sunak announced last night that a future Conservative government would bring back mandatory national service last night, as he attempted to reignite his election campaign after an error-strewn start.

Under the plan, which appeared to be his latest attempt to reduce Tory losses by winning over voters drifting to Reform UK, the prime minister said that every 18-year-old would have to spend time in a competitive, full-time military commission or spend one weekend a month volunteering in “civil resilience”.

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Pilot dies in Spitfire crash in field near RAF Coningsby base in Lincolnshire

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Plane was part of RAF Battle of Britain memorial flight, which maintains historic aircraft in airworthy condition

A pilot has died after a Spitfire crashed in a field near an RAF base in Lincolnshire, a Royal Air Force spokesperson has confirmed.

“It is with great sadness that we must confirm the death of an RAF pilot in a tragic accident near RAF Coningsby today,” a Ministry of Defence spokesperson said.

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About 270,000 UK forces records exposed to Chinese hackers

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Payroll data at risk includes names, bank details and addresses of current and former force members, government sources suggest

An estimated 270,000 payroll records belonging to nearly all members of Britain’s armed forces have been exposed to Chinese hackers in a breach at a third-party contractor that was discovered a few days ago.

The data at risk includes names and bank details for full-time military personnel, part-time reservists, including at least one MP, and veterans who left after January 2018. It was managed by a private contractor, SSCL.

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Russia threatens UK military and orders nuclear drills after ‘provocation’

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Vladimir Putin responds to recent statements from David Cameron and Emmanuel Macron over Ukraine war

Russia has threatened to strike British military facilities and ordered its military to hold battlefield nuclear weapons drills in a move the Kremlin described as a response to comments from the French president, Emmanuel Macron, on western troops fighting in Ukraine and from the British foreign secretary, David Cameron, on using British-supplied weapons against Russia.

The Russian defence ministry said in a statement that troops from the southern military district would “practise the issues of preparation and use of non-strategic nuclear weapons … in response to provocative statements and threats by certain western officials against the Russian Federation.”

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Minister ‘sorry’ as veterans find ID card not valid for English elections

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Johnny Mercer says he will ‘do all I can’ to change rules after veteran turned away from polling station

The veterans minister has apologised to former military personnel who have been prevented from using their veterans ID in order to vote in the local elections in England on Thursday.

Downing Street said it would “look into” changing the controversial new rules, which require photo ID in order to vote, to allow veterans’ ID cards on to the list of valid identification.

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Lancashire town locked down ‘after grenade donated to heritage centre’

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Emergency services corden off large area of Darwen while army bomb disposal unit removes and destroys grenade

A town centre in Lancashire was placed in lockdown on Saturday, with British army bomb disposal experts forced to remove and destroy a grenade.

It is understood that a member of the public had donated items to a heritage centre in Darwen which included the grenade.

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