Defiant Army Chief Says 'We Can Stand Up To Putin'

UK military 'completely credible' to lead Nato forces if Russia attacks an ally

- Michael Knowles

ARMY READY TO TAKE COMMAND OF NATO RESPONSE TO RUSSIAN THREAT

'No stone has been left unturned to make us now as good as we can be'

BRITISH troops insist they ready and able to are lead the response if Russia attacks any Nato ally.

Defiant chiefs sent out the clear message following claims some in the alliance were concerned about the reduced size of the British Army.

Lt Col Ben Hawes, who will assume command of Nato's high-readiness force next year, insisted British forces were not "under-resourced".

He said: "If I ask for it, I get it. Everything has been thrown at making sure we are completely credible."

Reports in German media claimed Nato had asked Berlin to keep charge of the rapid reaction force for another year because the British Army did not have enough troops.

But Lt Col Hawes pledged: "We're ready now."

He has already held meetings with army chiefs across Europe and will refine plans over the coming months to create a deadly fighting force to defend the continent if Vladimir Putin attacks another country.

Speaking from Oman - where British troops are conducting exercises alongside the Omani army at the Ras Madrakah joint training area near Duqm - he said: "What the Army has asked me to do is master the basics, to become an expert at conventional warfare. And it's taken me through the process of optimisation where I've been put under pressure to go faster, to get inside the enemy's decision-making cycle and to stay inside it.