Could UK’s Forces defend the realm?
ANDREW NEIL (Mail) observes that neither the Chancellor nor the Prime Minister ‘seems to care much’ about defence. I conclude he is correct. Western support for Ukraine is faltering. Russia will not cease in its efforts to crush it and then, inevitably, continue fulfilling its ‘to-do list’. China is making both insidious and blatant inroads into undermining the West, while remaining set on the conquest of Taiwan.
Iran is determined to acquire nuclear weapons while bankrolling terrorist organisations throughout the Middle East. The war in Gaza may be the prelude to a far greater conflagration. And finally, North Korea grows ever more belligerent and already has the means to act on its threats. Given all this and more, would it be too much to ask our (allegedly) Conservative Government in what circumstances it would deem it fit to restore our Armed Forces to a level where friend and foe alike realise they are capable of defending our country and its interests successfully?
PHiLiP J. ASHE, Leeds. FOR the Armed Forces, as with the NHS, raised expenditure alone will achieve little without fundamental reform of chronic mismanagement. The ever-perceptive Andrew Neil noted this, and the issue is explored greater detail in Lewis Page’s book Lions, Donkeys And Dinosaurs: Waste And Blundering In The Military.
MARtiN KEAtiNG, Falkirk. AS THE UK is called upon to intervene in international disputes arising from the action of hostile foreign powers or the inaction of our supposed European allies, is it not time to divert all our bloated overseas aid budget to defence spending?
B. MEEcHAN, Bovey tracey, Devon. IF DEFENCE spending does increase, let us hope it is not channelled into Ajax armoured vehicles that deafen their crew and can’t reverse over anything more than eight inches high, or submarines that almost fire missiles at themselves.
R. BRADSHAW, cowbridge, Glamorgan. IT WAS recently reported that one of our aircraft carriers, HMS Queen Elizabeth, suffered a fire on board. Apparently, an oil lamp was knocked over, setting fire to some pitch on the deck. This was brought under control when the entire crew of seven leapt into action, using the ship’s fire extinguisher and buckets of sand.
The carrier has had to leave NATO exercises and return to base, so the extinguisher can be replaced. Both its Sopwith Camels, below decks at the time, were thankfully unharmed.