Defence minister hints at cash boost for ‘tier two’ Army

THE British Army is on course to have its budget increased amid concerns that troops have been over stretched by the UK’S support for Ukraine, a defence minister has suggested.

James Heappey made the comments in response to claims that a senior US general privately told Ben Wallace, the Defence Secretary, that the Army was no longer regarded as a top-level fighting force. Addressing the Commons, Mr Heappey said: “Serial under investment in the Army over decades has led to the point where the Army is in need of urgent recapitalisation.”

Hinting at a potential rise in investment in the Budget this spring, Mr Heappey added: “The Chancellor and the Prime Minister get that and there is a Budget coming.”

It comes after The Daily Telegraph reported that the Army feels that the latest gift of tanks by the UK to Ukraine is another example of the force having taken on the “lion’s share” of equipping the war-torn country.

Senior defence sources are understood to feel that the RAF and Navy should be doing more to help to “shoulder the burden”.

It follows a report by Sky News that a US general privately told the Defence Secretary: “You haven’t got a tier one – it’s barely tier two.”

Mr Wallace also addressed the accusations, as he admitted the Army requires “urgent recapitalisation”. He added: “That’s why we are investing in it.”

Mr Wallace also said he would rather have “perfectly formed, properly protected men and women of the Armed Forces of a size we can afford and an ambition we can afford than pretend we are somehow reaching beyond ourselves”. Last month it was reported that defence spending is set to increase by more than £1 billion to avoid a realterms cut over the next two years.

It is understood that the Treasury has accepted the argument that the Ministry of Defence budget should not be falling relative to inflation while the Ukraine war continues.

Military experts have estimated that to avoid real-terms cut the MOD budget in 2024-25 must rise from £48 billion to £50.1billion, meaning an increase of at least around £1.5billion is expected.

Mr Wallace also told the Commons yesterday that the Armed Forces have been “hollowed out and underfunded” but he called on Labour to accept some responsibility for the situation.

John Healey, the shadow defence secretary, noted that when Labour left government in 2010, the British Army “stood at over 100,000 full-time troops and we were spending 2.5 per cent of GDP on defence”.

“The serious hollowing out has happened since. Who does he think has been in charge over the past 13 years?” Mr Healey asked.