Britain is ‘on a war footing’ as a bloodbath is knocking on Europe’s door, the UK’s armed forces minister has said.
The Army minister, Al Carns, said the country is close to a conflict and that the ‘shadow of war was at Europe’s door.’
His warning comes after Nato’s general secretary, Mark Rutte, urged all member countries, including Britain, to boost their defence efforts to counter Vladimir Putin’s Russia.
The Nato leader said the alliance is ‘Russia’s next target,’ but he fears ‘too many are quietly complacent.’
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He used the opportunity to tell the 32 Nato member states to increase defence spending and weapons production to prevent a war on scale ‘our grandparents and great-grandparents endured.’
Speaking at the launch of a new Military Intelligence Services organisation, Carns said: ‘The shadow of war is knocking on Europe’s door and that war could be bigger and bloodier than what we have experienced in recent times.
‘If you look at the UK casualties taken in the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, that amounts to about a week in the war in Ukraine. If you are asking is Britain is on a war footing then you are on the money.
‘We should remember that collectively the UK and its allies overmatch Russia significantly. While Ukraine has inflicted more than a million casualties on the largest armed forces in the world.’
While US-led peace efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war are ongoing, leaders have cautioned against relying on America too much.
Donald Trump added to the strained relationship between the US and European countries after accusing leaders of holding ‘unrealistic expectations’ for the war in Ukraine.
Despite the tensions, Trump has fully agreed to stay in Nato and honour its Article 5 collective defence clause.
Carns accused Britain of ‘outsourcing our lethality to others’ in the past ‘wars of choice,’ including to the US.
Echoing the Nato leader’s words, he urged the UK to ‘increase our lethality.’
He warned that the UK has seen a 50% surge in Russian threats and aggression in the last year, saying the incidents are ‘in the hundreds,’ although the exact figure is classified.
What is the UK’s new Military Intelligence Services?
The Ministry of Defence announced an overhaul of all defence intelligence organisations today after more threats to the UK posed by ‘hostile states and terrorists.’
It brings every defence intelligence unit and organisation under one roof like intelligence units from the Royal Navy, Army, the RA and the UK Space Command.
The move is designed to speed up information gathering, analysis and sharing across the Armed Forces following escalating threats like cyber attakcs, satellite and shipping disruption, and the spread of disinformation, the MoD said.
Defence Secretary, John Healy, said: ‘As threats increase, we are making defence intelligence smarter.
‘This Government is delivering the recommendations in the Strategic Defence Review, putting Britain at the leading edge of military innovation. For intelligence, this means cutting-edge technology, clearer structures and faster data flows. This gives us sharper insights into what our adversaries might do next, so we protect our forces, safeguard critical infrastructure, and deter changing threats.’
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