The UK faces its greatest risk of war in a lifetime, with Russia posing the largest threat to national security, defence secretary Wes Streeting has said. He used threats from Russia and President Putin to justify what he called the biggest increase in defence spending since the end of the Cold War.
Streeting warns of Putin's 'imperialist ambitions'
Ahead of the Labour conference beginning in Liverpool today, Streeting warned that the Russian president has 'imperialist ambitions' and is 'constantly testing' both Britain's defences and those of Nato. Speaking to The Sun on Sunday, he said: 'Without a shadow of a doubt, the biggest threat facing Britain is Russia and President Putin.'
'We've got war in our continent. We've got a Russian president who has imperialist ambitions, who is constantly testing Britain's defences, Nato defences and testing the strength of our alliances. And so, the sobering reality is that we face a greater risk of war than we've done at any point in my lifetime.'
Defence spending and deterrence
Streeting added he remained confident the country has what it needs to remain safe, but the same would not be true if defence investment were kept at the same level for the next five years. 'Strength builds deterrence, and deterrence makes it far less likely that we will end up in a place we don't want to be – which is at war with Russia or, indeed, anyone else,' he said.
The defence secretary urged people to keep a stockpile of essentials, such as bottled water and cash, warning them to be 'alert' but not 'alarmed'. He explained that while the start of the war saw Britain train Ukrainian forces following Russia's full-scale invasion, Ukraine's military is now sharing its experience with allies in areas such as drone warfare.
Public spending trade-offs
Streeting said he was acutely aware that money spent on defence could have gone into other areas such as schools, hospitals and 'people's pockets'. He added: 'I feel that need to constantly make the case to the public that we're spending their money wisely and that investing in our defence now is a far better price to pay than the price of failure should war break out.'
