Boost for Royal Navy in review of UK defence
Cornish lithium production also set to benefit, says PM
THE biggest overhaul of Britain’s defences since the Cold War will be unveiled today, with a promise that high tech industries in the Westcountry will reap the rewards of new investment.
Boris Johnson is set to launch The Integrated Defence Review, with a pledge to increase spending by £165 billion over four years, to make the UK Europe’s leading naval power, give new jets to the RAF and modernise the Army.
And he will make a commitment to give several parts of Britain a leading role in rebuilding the nation’s defences, including Cornwall’s contribution as a producer of lithium with high tech applications in the production of batteries to drive electric vehicles.
The plans also include the creation of an agency dedicated to artificial intelligence, and a “space command” capable of launching the UK’s first rocket by 2022. Speculation about the review’s contents came up yesterday in the House of Commons. Plymouth Moor View MP Johnny Mercer, a Defence Minister, paid tribute to the UK’s service personnel, calling them the country’s finest asset.
Mr Mercer – who defended rates of military pay – added the review would be the first to specifically address the needs of servicemen and women.
WESTCOUNTRY MP and Defence Minister Johnny Mercer has described the UK’s armed forces personnel as the country’s “finest asset” in a debate ahead of the publication today of the Integrated Defence Review.
The former soldier, now MP for Plymouth Moor View, was speaking in answer to a comment from SNP defence spokesman Stewart McDonald.
Mr McDonald told MPs: “When the Integrated Review does publish, will it contain something, anything at all, to reverse this trend on satisfaction and will he apologise to the armed forces who have had a kick in the teeth with their pay rise being paused, given everything they’ve done for everyone over the Covid crisis?”
Mr Mercer responded: “Let me be clear, this will be the first strategic review to have a specific address to our people. They are our finest asset, they are rewarded not only financially but through the choice of career on offer to them.
“I’d encourage [Mr McDonald] to read that when it comes out and I’m more than happy to have a conversation with him after that.”
Mr McDonald earlier told the Commons: “On this issue of pay rises and satisfaction more generally, [it] has been a bone of contention in the House for many years and the numbers speak for themselves.
“Four in ten serving personnel don’t think that the pay they receive reflects the work that they do. Why?”
Mr Mercer, the Minister for Veterans, hit back, saying: “The crushing irony of our people who work in Scotland having to pay more in tax and therefore take home less pay and [Mr McDonald] raising this point is not lost on those who serve.
“Pay is one of a number of factors that people speak about when the armed forces continuous attitude survey comes through. It is by no means the primary factor, we’re constantly reviewing it and I am comfortable that we offer a world-class package to our people.”
Meanwhile, it has emerged that an RAF regiment is to be disbanded following abuse allegations.
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace told the Commons: “We were all appalled by the reporting we saw of the incident involving members of the RAF regiment at the weekend.
“The RAF police are investigating the incident and the victims have been offered our full support.
“The Chief of the Air Staff and I had a discussion about the incident over the weekend and he has, with my support, acted quickly.
“He has removed officers from the immediate chain of command without prejudice pending the findings of a police investigation and the unit involved, the Support Weapons Flight, will be disbanded with immediate effect. Bullying, harassment and discrimination has no place in our armed forces, and neither I nor the Chief of the Air Staff tolerate it.”
Mr Mercer later tweeted a link to a Daily Mail report which claimed a video appeared to show a young airman being sexually assaulted during an initiation ceremony.
Conservative chair of the Defence Committee, Tobias Ellwood, later warned the UK was “about to witness a shocking reduction in our conventional hard power and full spectrum capabilities.” He said that would be overshadowed by the fanfare around cyber warfare.
BORIS Johnson will today set out plans to drive investment into domestic industries, including lithium mining in Cornwall, when he announces the outcome of the Government’s far-ranging review of foreign and defence policy this week.
The Prime Minister said Britain’s international ambitions must “start at home”, as he pledged to use the Integrated Review to ensure the UK is on the cutting edge of innovation and “match fit” for a more competitive world.
Mr Johnson is expected to make the case for more investment in national infrastructure, innovation and skills – with a push for investment in industries including defence, technology and alternative energy. He is said to want the UK to be stronger and more secure, prosperous and resilient by 2030.
The Integrated Review – covering foreign, defence, security and development policy – has been billed as the most significant overhaul of the
UK’s strategic posture since the Cold War.
It will include commitments to build ships in Scotland and armoured vehicles in Wales, and contain plans for satellites to be manufactured in Northern Ireland and lithium to be mined in Cornwall.
In November Mr Johnson set out a £16.5 billion increase in defence spending over four years, and said the UK will once again become Europe’s leading naval power, while the RAF will get new high-tech jets and the military will be modernised.
The plans included the creation of an agency dedicated to artificial intelligence, and a “space command” capable of launching the UK’s first rocket by 2022.
Mr Johnson announced over the weekend that there would be a “cyber corridor” across the north of England, where the headquarters of the new National Cyber Force (NCF) will be based. The Prime Minister was due to make a statement in the House of Commons outlining the review’s conclusions today.
Ahead of the statement, he said: “The foundation of our foreign policy is who we are as a country: our values, our strengths and – most importantly – our people. So I am determined to ensure we have a foreign policy that delivers for those people.
“Our international ambitions must start at home, and through the Integrated
Review we will drive investment back into our communities, ensuring the UK is on the cuttingedge of innovation and creating an entire country that is match-fit for a more competitive world.”
Mr Johnson is also expected to announce in the review that the number of Foreign Office staff based in East Kilbride will increase by 500. It is the latest Whitehall department to move more staff out of London as part of the Government’s “levelling up” agenda. While the Integrated Review is expected to mark a shift away from “industrial age” capabilities, like heavy armour, towards the battlefields of the future such as cyber and space, Mr Johnson has been warned that the UK could be outgunned in a war with Russia. MPs on the Commons Defence Committee said the British Army’s ageing tanks and armoured vehicles are likely to find themselves outgunned in any conflict.