The UK lacks a plan to defend itself from military attack, MPs have warned, as the government pledged to boost readiness with new arms factories. A report from the Commons defence committee highlighted the challenges facing the UK's ability to fight a war and meet its Nato obligations in light of Russia's war in Ukraine.
“The UK lacks a plan for defending the homeland and overseas territories,” the MPs said, calling for the public to be given more information about the scale of the threat and the response required. The committee chair, Labour MP Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi, said the government must “grasp the nettle” and prioritise homeland defence and resilience.
“Wars aren’t won just by generals, but by the whole of the population getting behind the armed forces,” Dhesi said, urging a coordinated effort to communicate the level of threat. At least 13 sites across the UK have been identified for new munitions and explosives factories, with defence secretary John Healey expecting the first plant to break ground next year.
Healey will announce in a speech on Wednesday that the “new era of threat” presents an economic opportunity, creating at least 1,000 jobs. The Ministry of Defence has funded feasibility studies for energetics factories producing explosives, pyrotechnics and propellants, with potential sites including Grangemouth, Teesside and Milford Haven.
The government plans to build at least six new munitions and energetics factories before the next election, and Healey will also announce the opening of two drone factories in Plymouth and Swindon this week. He said the UK is making defence “an engine for growth” and that at next week’s budget, chancellor Rachel Reeves will ensure no return to “hollowed out and underfunded” armed forces.
Before Healey’s speech, Prime Minister Keir Starmer travelled to Berlin for dinner with German chancellor Friedrich Merz and French president Emmanuel Macron to discuss defence and security issues, amid negotiations over Britain’s participation in a €150bn European defence fund.
