US general warns UK over cuts to defence

CUTS to the UK’s Armed Forces threaten its status as a world power, a senior US general warned yesterday.

It was the first blow for Gavin Williamson since he became the Defence Secretary last week.

Mr Williamson had flown to Brussels for his first Nato defence ministers meeting, where he pledged Britain would boost its commitment to European security ‘in the face of an increasingly assertive Russia’ by sending four jets to Romania.

But this was undermined by Lieutenant-General Ben Hodges, commander of the US Army in Europe, who warned the UK’s position as a key ally and a leading Nato member would be at risk if its forces shrink further.

The Ministry of Defence has asked the Army, Navy and RAF to suggest options for cuts in a bid to make £20billion of savings. The Army has already fallen from 120,000 to 78,000 soldiers.

Troops are currently deployed alongside US forces training in

‘Couldn’t maintain commitments’

Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as bolstering the defences of Eastern Europe against Russia.

Lt-Gen Hodges told the BBC: ‘I don’t see how you could maintain those global commitments if you got any smaller.’ He also warned further defence cuts would ‘take the pressure off other countries’ to spend more on defence.

The Royal Navy’s list of saving options include cuts to the Royal Marines and axing the Navy’s two landing craft – which would see Britain lose its ability to carry out beach assaults.

Lt-General Hodges said if that happened it would ‘make the job simpler for a potential adversary’. He also expressed concern about cuts to the Royal Marines, saying some of the best officers he served with had been Royal Marines, including vice chief of the defence staff Gordon Messenger.

He added: ‘I’d hate to see the institution that produces men like that degraded.’

Mr Williamson replaced Sir Michael Fallon as Defence Secretary after he resigned as part of the sex harassment scandal.