A war in Ukraine, growing instability in the Middle East and increasingly hostile activity from states such as Russia, China and Iran have increased the threats facing the United Kingdom. Yet the much delayed Defence Investment Plan underwhelmed.
That is why I spoke in the House of Commons during last week's debate on warfighting readiness and national resilience.
Less than half of the headline funding announced is new money.
The efficiency target seems a work of fiction – it has gone up more than £4 billion from the figure announced just last year in the Strategic Defence Review without any plan to deliver it. Most concerning, the active reserves barely get a mention.
We need to expand our active reserves, as many other countries are doing. But this seems to be a blind spot within the MOD. No expansion in numbers is planned this Parliament when it is one of the best ways to deliver military scale and skills in a value for money way. At a time when Britain should be increasing readiness, this is a missed opportunity.
The plan also fails to set out how the rest of Government will contribute to strengthening national resilience. Protecting Britain cannot be the responsibility of the Ministry of Defence alone. It remains unclear what other departments need to deliver, and how this will be measured.
Last month the Secretary of State for Defence and the Minister for the Armed Forces resigned. The Defence Investment Plan shows the Government is not committed to building the national resilience we need now.
Watch my full speech below.
