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Sending British warships to police the Strait of Hormuz<\/a> is a \u201cfantasy\u201d because the UK\u2019s armed forces are already so depleted, former defence secretary Ben Wallace <\/a>has warned. <\/p>\n Mr Wallace, who served as defence secretary under three Tory prime ministers, said such a move, which armed forces minister Luke Pollard<\/a> refused to rule out on Friday, risked \u201cleaving our troops dangerously unprotected and overstretched\u201d. <\/p>\n He urged the government to stop ducking tough decisions and properly fund Britain\u2019s defence, as he accused ministers of \u201ctaking the public for fools\u201d after the current defence secretary, John Healey, insisted the UK is ready to defend itself.<\/p>\n Sir Keir Starmer spoke to Mr Trump on Thursday night about the need for a \u201cpractical plan\u201d to get shipping going again through the Strait, which is currently blockaded by Tehran, after a two-week conditional ceasefire in the US-Iran conflict was announced. <\/p>\n It comes after Donald Trump demanded that Nato allies send warships to the region in a matter of days. <\/p>\n Asked about the possibility of deploying the Navy to the vital shipping route, Sir Ben, who served as defence secretary from 2019 to 2023, told The Independent: “These are just fantasies. They talk about troops being deployed to the Strait when they know damn well that they\u2019ve cut their operating budgets.<\/p>\n “It risks leaving our troops dangerously unprotected and dangerously overstretched. <\/p>\n “John Healey needs to get some courage and start being prepared to have a fight with the Treasury and No 10 [for more funding], but also at the same time start being honest with the British public.\u201d<\/p>\n Arguing that Mr Healey\u2019s claim Britain is \u201cready\u201d to defend itself is \u201cpalpably untrue\u201d, Sir Ben added: \u201cThe problem is they simply will not make the tough political decisions… So we end up with very hollow platitudes and partisan comments from a Labour Party who think spin is the solution.\u201d <\/p>\n Dr Sidharth Kaushal, a senior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, told The Independent that more money needs to be spent if the government wants to \u201cplug many of the under-resourced gaps in defence\u201d. <\/p>\n \u201cBritain is certainly still the beneficiary of strategic depth of alliances, of some pretty impressive niche capabilities within each of the services. But its armed forces are very much in a what you might call a transitional period, where we’re moving from an era of small wars to one where large-scale conflict is very much a believable contingency. <\/p>\n \u201cAnd that process of transition is by no means complete.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked about Mr Wallace\u2019s warnings over a lack of spending on defence, Dr Kaushal said: \u201cI think it’s probably true that in order to plug many of the under-resourced gaps in defence, more money than it needs to be spent than is than is currently being spent. <\/p>\n “In certain areas, efficiencies can be found. And this appears to be the bet being made across the services\u2026 <\/p>\n \u201cObviously, there are ways to find innovative solutions to the same problem without necessarily spending more money. But even so, I think the broad picture that that he paints is an accurate one.”<\/p>\n While Dr Kaushal argued that the UK could \u201cusefully contribute to an allied effort to open the Strait\u201d, he also warned that there are \u201cdefinitely gaps\u201d in our defensive capability \u201cthat we would see exposed were a decision to contribute made\u201d. <\/p>\n He explained: \u201cCertain things that would have been a part of our offer in the Gulf historically, things like mine countermeasures. We maintained a standing presence in the region of mine countermeasures vessels for around 20 years, which we no longer do because that capability has has entered a temporary trough.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThere are also, of course, questions around vessel readiness\u201d, he added, pointing to the long-term maintenance of Type 45 air defence destroyers. <\/p>\n The UK deployed HMS Dragon, Britain\u2019s fourth Type 45 destroyer, to Cyprus after RAF Akrotiri was hit by a drone strike, but the ship took a week to leave Portsmouth as it needed to undergo maintenance – a delay which has been seen as symptomatic of the state of Britain\u2019s defence readiness. <\/p>\n Sir Ben\u2019s warnings come just days after a former top military commander said <\/a>that the British army<\/a> is so depleted it could only \u201cseize a small market town on a good day\u201d.<\/p>\n![\"Former](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/924b1fa01ae848af2fd23ae266d50489Y29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzUyNjY3NDE3-2.72806539.jpg\")
Former defence secretary Ben Wallace says John Healey needs to fight for more funding (PA Archive)<\/p>\n![\"HMS](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/a8966a1b5f13ef3207cbad6aaabb4996Y29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzczOTI3MDQy-2.83817013.jpg\")
HMS Dragon has been deployed to Cyprus (PA Wire)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/HFgCvQ5XcAEuUtw.jpeg\")
(Institute for the Study of War)<\/p>\n