LABOUR IS FIRST GOVERNMENT FOR DECADES THAT IS NOT CUTTING ARMY NUMBERS, SAYS DEFENCE SECRETARY

DEFENCE Secretary John Healey has claimed that the government is the first in decades that is not looking to cut troop numbers.

He told GB News: “We are committed to spending what we need to deliver this review. The review is based on the government spending plans, not just the aim to hit 3% in the next parliament, but the confirmation that three years early, in two years’ time, we’ll hit 2.5% of GDP on defence.

“That’s a level we’ve not spent in this country for 15 years, and it’s part of a record uplift in defence spending, the largest since the end of the Cold War. It starts this month, this year, with an extra £5 billion.

“It means that I can get on as Defence Secretary by putting into action some of the recommendations in the review yesterday.”

He added: “This review is the first for a generation that doesn’t look to hollow out our armed forces further. Instead, it looks to build out the forces, grow the forces and grow jobs. On troop numbers, the review said, look, there’s a case for a small uplift.

“And I was able to confirm yesterday…this is the first government for decades that is not looking to cut numbers further and that we will reverse the long-term decline. We will grow the strength of the British Army to at least 76,000 into the next parliament.”

“There’s been a recruitment and retention crisis for the last 15 years, with many more leaving than joining the forces. We’re starting to change that.

“We’ve removed a lot of the red tape and the rules that prevent people from being able to join the forces when they’ve got a lot to offer. We’ve introduced a direct entry for those who’ve got good cyber or gaming talents that we need for the future to prevent the cyber attacks.

“We’re also making sure, as we have done last year, the biggest pay increase for 20 years for armed forces personnel. And I’ve been able to announce as well, because of the new investment we’re putting into defence, we’ll put £1.5 billion in this parliament to dealing with the scandal of military family homes that are unfit to live in.”

Healey said: “I’ve announced today that in this parliament we’ll put a billion pounds into putting the first laser weapons onto our ships, the first European nation in NATO that will have laser weapons able to shoot down at the speed of light, at the cost of a tenner a shot.

“I’ve announced also that we will double the amount going into drones, £4 billion in this parliament, because lessons from Ukraine tell us with more people being killed by drones than traditional artillery.

“The lessons from Ukraine tell us that the nations that get that power of new technology, AI autonomy, linked into the hard metal of ships, tanks, artillery are the ones that give the bat get the battlefield edge, and I’m determined that Britain will be at the innovating edge of NATO in the years to come.

“These will bring stronger armed forces, but also they’ll bring British jobs, because we will be able to develop these in Britain. We’ll be able to export them from Britain, and so this is the way, as the defence review says, and I’m determined to deliver. We will make defence an engine for growth for this future as well.”