UK will be at war with Putin if Starmer doesn’t fund Ukraine | Former British army officer

UK will be at war with Putin if Starmer doesn’t fund Ukraine | Former British army officer

this is obviously a key issue uh and we have a defense industry that’s structured around our our current defense as it were and I think there things we need to look at there is the close battle you know what is happening here and now we’ve got absolutely got to ensure that Ukraine prevails um because if we don’t ensure it prevails uh we could well find ourselves um in conflict with the Russians rather sooner than we think the domestic supply of capability has really been highlighted gained by the Ukraine war and it’s another piece dividend but actually I think in Britain you know we’re pretty well served we have a an excellent defense industry and as long as it’s invested in and supported I’m sure it will come up with the goods labor committing to the 2 and a half% uh spend on defense K St has described as a rout of Branch review to prepare us for a more dangerous and volatile world heish what is your take do we need another defense review yeah I think we absolutely do and I think it’s um it’s really welcome uh we’ve had the same people looking at defense for the last 14 years and uh the threats facing us have certainly changed certainly in the last two or three years and that we currently have a military capability that is not a conventional deterrence certainly when Putin looked West on the 24th of February 2022 he wasn’t put off and I think the peace dividend which uh has been completely used up now and we now have a military that requires as I think um the government has set a root root and Branch review to make sure that we have capabilities going forward that are going to defend us and there are a lot of lessons to be learned from Ukraine but but the right ones and I know we’re going to go into the us as well if we can’t absolutely guarantee the US’s full support from November this year we need to take that into account so I for one welcome it and hope that we will get a much more capable and better defense for the current and future threats than we do at the moment I mean that’s fascinating uh what you said there hey Miss bromin I think uh you know what uh what this is really saying is you hear the word defense review the words defense review and you think well it’s you know how many tanks do we need but it’s so bound up in geopolitics it’s bound up in as HH was indicating the strength of US support it’s bound up in what James heape the former Armed Forces Minister who came on said about the US expecting us to contribute to the indopacific strategy uh and also obviously the defense of Europe and Russia it’s so complex problem with madx it is always very complex you’ve got the piece that’s about um the threats out there and that that’s changing and I think there will already be a lot more emphasis on China in this one than there was um even even a year ago when the last government was looking at it you’ve got then the piece about what do we need then you’ve got what do we have not right now uh and obviously inevitably quite a gap between those two and then there’s usually a fourth bit which is why is the stuff that we’ve bought gone wrong or been too expensive or been late or whatever but th those are the Classic Bits of a defense review and um I think it is worth having one now um but not drawing it out too much partly because the threats do keep changing and um there isn’t going to be one definitive one for all time and also because there isn’t that much time um they want to take enough time not to uh get things wrong but some of the main decisions are going to be clear already um including a need for basic ammunition um and and missiles much of which the UK has spent or given uh on Ukraine yeah that’s right Hees isn’t it that uh the big issue here is kind of procurement I mean do we have enough factories making enough frankly uh shells bombs Dr own uh in order to keep our supply up to date well this is obviously a key issue uh and we have a defense industry that’s structured around our our current defense as it were and I think there are things we need to look at there is the close battle you know what is happening here and now we’ve got absolutely got to ensure that Ukraine prevails um because if we don’t ensure it prevails uh we could well find ourselves um in conflict with the Russians rather sooner than we think the domestic supply of capability has really been highlighted Again by the Ukraine war and it’s another piece dividend but actually I think in Britain you know we’re pretty well served we have a an excellent defense industry and as long as it’s invested in and supported I’m sure it will come up with the goods I absolutely agree with bronan says we need to be careful you know things do move move very quickly we’ve got two massive aircraft carriers which you know as a soldier You’ probably expect me to say you know I I can’t imagine why we spent 10 billion on them when when when when we needed an aircraft carrier recently we used Cyprus not one of those bees so it’s it’s a tricky one and everybody criticizes military procurement but but K we must be able to do it better and I suppose the way that labor have got experts into perhaps help the judicial and prison system they they could do well on the defense side to get some really uh really top industrialists in as well but we need to make sure we need to be flexible that’s the key thing on our balls of our feet which hither to I think we’ve been too stuck in our ways which is why we are are where we are it’s a fascinating Point actually that there’s nobody from the private sector and the defense industry on that review which I think is actually a really important point because if anyone knows how a supply chain works it’s probably them let’s talk now and also may I just add the point that it’s a real chance for labor to do something for the growth that they say they want exactly link it to their industrial strategy and say we want to um do something for the the UK defense industry we haven’t heard that much about that yet so many more that means we can Safeguard our security and our growth for decades to come I mean look at we praying now industrial capacity is an absolutely critical part of security so with labor Britain we’ll be fit to fire it within the first year of a labor government we will carry out a new Strategic Defense review we are absolutely committed to spending 2.5% of GDP on defense as soon as possible because we know our security isn’t just vital for our safety today it’s absolutely Central to our success for the future independent UK nuclear deter when K became the first labor leader for over 30 years to visit Barrow shipyards a couple of months ago to see nule submarines being built he said this is the Bedrock of the UK’s National Security and the UK’s defense it is the Bedrock for the contribution we also make to defending our NATO allies this is a changed party the labor party is now the party of Defense needed we are looking forward to the opportunity at this Summit to work with others and our allies to make sure that we send a very clear message I think of the resolve of a NATO which is bigger and stronger and more united I think than uh ever before U of our resolve to stand up to aggression Russian aggression but aggression in any form that we find it that threatens our values and so it’s very important to be here can I e

“We have to ensure Ukraine prevails, if we don’t ensure it prevails, we could find ourselves in conflict with the Russians.”

Sir Keir Starmer must continue supporting Ukraine to stop a potential conflict with Russia, says Former British army officer and military analyst Hamish De Breton Gordon

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