‘Britain will be Belgium with nukes’

ANGER AT DEFENCE ‘CUTS’

A NEW round of Army cuts could leave Britain like “Belgium with nukes”.

Another 14,000 troops could be slashed under controversial cost-cutting measures.

And the Ministry of Defence is also considering combining elite units of paratroopers with the Royal Marines.

General Sir Richard Barrons, a former head of Joint Forces Command, said: “We’ll be like Belgium with nukes.

“Defence has painted a picture of cuts of such magnitude, given the journey of reductions travelled over years, that they would break the institution.”

Tory, Labour and SNP MPs have all raised concerns over the prospect of cuts to the Armed Forces.

Tory former defence minister Mark ® Francois said such a reduction in manpower would be “sheer folly”.

He told the Commons yesterday: “At a time when we face a resurgent Russia... reducing the Army in this way would send entirely the wrong signals to the Russians about our commitments to Nato and willingness to uphold the territorial integrity of our allies.”

Defence minister Tobias Ellwood said the MoD had “no intention of leaving the UK less safe”.

And an MoD spokesman said: “A whole range of options have been discussed as part of the cross-government review on how to best protect our country.

“No decisions have been taken and any talk of an outcome is pure speculation.”