Army has 'historic' funding shortfall, defence chief says

Britain's army is not as strong as it should be because of "historic underinvestment", the head of the military has admitted, with "deficiencies in people, equipment, stockpiles, training and technology'.

- KIM SENGUPTA

Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, the chief of defence staff, said there was a need for "humility" to recognise the limitations and "near-term financial challenges" faced by our armed forces.

But he said Russia, the main adversary of the West, has been hugely damaged by brutal losses in Ukraine and will take a decade or more to rebuild its military strength to the level it had at the time of Vladimir Putin's invasion and rectify the shortcomings exposed.

And he rejected the idea that conscription was needed, as proposed in the Conservative manifesto at the election. Baltic and Nordic nations "are talking about mass resilience and conscription", he said. "That is understandable. They border Russia. The threat is close. Our geography is different."