A cruise missile could hit and destroy a city within 90 minutes (Image: Getty)
Cruise missiles could hit and destroy a British city in just 90 minutes, according to the author of the Strategic Defence Review.
General Sir Richard Barrons, a former British Army chief, warned towns and cities could endure similar damage to Ukraine’s major population hubs in the event of an all-out war.
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Stressing that Britain must be able to deter enemies, he told Sky News's Politics Hub: “Right now, we should be very concerned about countries like Russia and how they might try and effect our daily national life.
“You look at the damage done to places like Kyiv, by missiles and air attack. Those are the same missiles and bombs that could do the same damage to London, Birmingham, Liverpool or Newcastle if we don’t take steps to deter that.
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Ukraine has been devastated by daily airstrikes (Image: Getty)
"We should absolutely be prepared to exist in a world where things like precision missiles can range the UK and do great harm. That's not to say it's about to happen or imminent, but in terms of the capability, a cruise missile is only 90 minutes away from the UK."
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Russia is "an immediate and pressing threat", as the invasion of Ukraine "makes unequivocally clear its willingness to use force to achieve its goals", the Strategic Review concluded. Meanwhile, China is a "sophisticated and persistent challenge", the review warns, and is "likely to continue seeking advantage through espionage and cyber attacks" and is expected to have 1,000 nuclear warheads by 2030.
Iran and North Korea are also highlighted and described as regional disruptors. To fight this, the Ministry of Defence must embrace new technologies such as artificial intelligence, robots and lasers, the review recommends.
In a Commons statement, Defence Secretary John Healey said: "The threats we face are now more serious and less predictable than at any time since the end of the Cold War.
"We face war in Europe, growing Russian aggression, new nuclear risks, and daily cyber-attacks at home. Our adversaries are working more in alliance with one another, while technology is changing the way war is fought. We are in a new era of threat, which demands a new era for UK defence."
Former head of the British Army Lord Dannatt said the delay in ramping up the UK’s military might would be like asking Adolf Hitler not to attack the UK until 1946. The damning verdict came as the Prime Minister unveiled a push to get Britain “war-ready” but refused to say when he will increase the defence budget to 3% of GDP.
Sir Keir repeatedly dodged calls to set a deadline, insisting it was still his “ambition” to hit the figure by 2034. “I am not, as the Prime Minister of a Labour government, going to make a commitment as to the precise date until I can be sure precisely where the money is coming from,” he said.
His refusal to commit overshadowed the launch of Labour’s Strategic Defence Review unveiled in a major speech at a Glasgow shipyard. Sir Keir warned that the mounting threat from Russia and allies such as Iran and North Korea means the country must ramp up preparations.
Germany's defence chief has raised the prospect of Vladimir Putin attacking a Nato state within the next four years. During his speech Sir Keir said: “First, we are moving to war-fighting readiness as the central purpose of our armed forces.
“When we are being directly threatened by states with advanced military forces, the most effective way to deter them is to be ready, and frankly, to show them that we're ready to deliver peace through strength.”
But the government's blueprint is predicated on spending reaching 3% in the next decade - with Sir Keir admitting that it depends on meeting Labour's “fiscal rules”. Asked if he was committed to spending the necessary money to deliver everything in the review, he said: “We are committed to spending what we need to deliver this.
“That is the basis on which the terms of reference were set and that is the terms on which the review was published. Everything that can be done will be done within the spending envelope that we have.”
Sir Keir said his plans will see a major boost for British jobs and industry - including six new munitions factories creating 1,000 roles and 12 new attack submarines, with one delivered every 18 months. He vowed to build “world leading drone capabilities” and invest ￡15 billion in the UK’s nuclear warhead programme. And the Prime Minister also pledged the UK’s armed forces will be ten times more lethal by 2035.
Keir Starmer made a major speech on defence today (Image: Getty)
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However, the Treasury appears to be panicking over how to balance the books as the economy stalls, with the respected IFS think-tank insisting “chunky” tax rises are the only way to keep finances under control.
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Lord Dannatt told Times Radio: “On the face of it there is going to be a lot of ambition set out in this Strategic Defence Review, much of it very good, much of it describing what we need to do to face the threats to our security.
“But the big issue is that just moving to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 does not cut the mustard in any shape or form. And this rather vague commitment to move to 3% by the end of the next parliament, 2034, it just doesn’t stack up.
“It’s a little bit like saying in 1938 to Adolf Hitler ‘please don’t attack us until 1946 because we are not going to be ready’.”