Hammond faces demand for more cash
THE UK’s only defence to aggressors could be nuclear if more money is not pumped into the Armed Forces, Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson warned yesterday.
Stepping up his battle for more resources from Chancellor Philip Hammond he said that without suffi cient conventional forces Britain might have “to turn to the greatest deterrence of them all”.
The Ministry of Defence faces a potential shortfall of £ 20billion over 10 years and is currently undergoing a defence review.
It is also investing in the new generation nuclear deterrent Dreadnought submarines.
In a speech to the Royal United Services Institute military think tank, Mr Williamson said: “One of the failures I think that we have sometimes in both the political world and also the military world is we’ve gone to a narrative about talking about deterrence.
“It’s sometimes diffi cult to explain to people that actually investing in our Armed Forces is all about making sure that things do not happen.
“We’ve got to start explaining so much more clearly that a deterrence isn’t just four nuclear bombs.
“It is about aircraft carriers, it is about a presence in the Pacifi c, a presence in the North Atlantic, a presence in the Mediterranean and in the Gulf.”
He added: “If we do not have that conventional deterrence, and the ability to deter from conventional forces, then what we’ll find ourselves in is a place that none of us wish to be in – and having to turn to the greatest deterrence of them all.”
Downing Street last night played down claims that Mr Williamson was proposing using nuclear weapons more readily than had previously been considered.
A Downing Street spokeswoman said: “As the PM has said previously, the whole point of the deterrent is that our enemies need to know that we would be prepared to use it.
“But we do also continue to invest in conventional military capabilities and that’s why we have committed to spending over £ 179billion on equipment and equipment support for the Armed Forces.”