Starmer heads to Washington for historic Nato summit after making first Parliamentary speech as Prime Minister

9 July 2024, 18:58 | Updated: 9 July 2024, 19:21

American defence expert: 'We don't have time to lose'

By Kieran Kelly

@kellyjourno

Sir Keir Starmer is on his way to Washington for an historic 75th Nato summit after making his first Parliamentary speech as Prime Minister.

It follows warnings that the UK desperately needs to increase defence spending, with the former head of the British Army warning World War 3 could break out within five years.

Meanwhile, a former Pentagon official told LBC the UK needs to prioritise defence spending over other social issues such as education.

Labour has promised to increase defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP, though has not given a firm date on when this will take place.

Asked about the stance, Jim Townsend told LBC’s Andrew Marr: “That just cannot be the thinking now, just like it couldn’t have been the thinking in the late 1930s, when Hitler was on the horizon.”

Mr Townsend added: “We’re in a very, very similar situation today, including in the United States. We don’t have time to lose.

“We would like to spend more money in the US on education and a lot of social ills that we have, but we are going to have to spend more money on defence. The money is beginning to come out of Congress.

“We need the UK with us.”

Mr Townsend issued a stark warning about the state of the UK defence, saying the US' view on the British army is largely nostalgic.

“There’s too few of them, there’s not enough. You see that stretch the UK military during the Houthi attack, when only a handful of planes can take part,” Mr Townsend added.

Read More: 'They tried to kill children': Doctor speaks of horror as death toll rises to 41 following Ukraine hospital attack

Read More: Russia ‘cannot claim ignorance’, Zelenskyy says, as 31 killed in attacks on Ukraine including children’s hospital

It follows a warning by the former head of the British Army, General Sir Patrick Sanders, who said WW3 could break out within the next five years.

The "axis of evil" involving Russia, China and Iran even represent more of a threat than the Nazis in the 1930s, Sir Patrick added.

"They are more interdependent and more aligned than the original axis powers were," he told The Times.

"Most estimates will tell you that we've got somewhere between five and 10 years before Russia recapitalises and is able to pose the sort of threat that it did before the Ukraine war," Sir Patrick continued.

"If we take the right steps now, if we address the threats and gaps we have in our capability, if we modernise our armed forces, if we make society and the UK more resilient, that's how we prevent it."

If we do that, it's a low likelihood. If we don't, it increases the probability and it encourages Russia, China and Iran."

Sir Patrick said that the current size of the Army is so small it would not be able to launch operations as was seen in Iraq in 2003, or even the Falkland Islands during Margaret Thatcher's premiership in 1982.

"Could you scramble together the two brigades that took the Falklands? Yes, of course we could," Sir Patrick said.

"But could we get them there? Could we have the task force that made it possible and sustain it? No."

He added that if he revealed the official size of the army, the figure would "put the hairs up on the back of your neck".

Sir Patrick's warnings come after Russia launched a series of attacks across Ukraine on Monday, killing 41 people.

One of the sites hit in the strikes include Okhmatdyt children's hospital.