Britain must better prepare its people, industry and armed forces for the risk of conflict — particularly from Russia — and the nation’s “sons and daughters” should be ready to fight if required, the new head of the armed forces has said.
Air chief marshall Richard Knighton, speaking at the annual lecture of the Royal United Services Institute, said “sons and daughters, colleagues, veterans – all will have a part to play. To build. To serve. And if necessary, to fight.”
Knighton said the UK had not yet felt the Russian threat as acutely as several European allies, some of whom had already stepped up defence production or reintroduced forms of national service.
He said the Russian leadership had made clear its intention to challenge and weaken NATO, and warned that unless Britain raised public awareness of the risks, it would struggle to mobilise government, society and industry to respond in time.
“The risk to Nato and to the UK from Russia is growing,” Knighton said. “Unless we are able to stimulate the conversation with society about those risks, we can’t expect the rest of government, society and industry to act or bear the costs.”
While stressing that Britain’s objective remained to avoid war, Knighton said the country needed to encourage more people to serve in the regular armed forces and reserves, rebuild industrial capacity to rearm and restock, and develop the specialist skills required by the defence sector.
He said the “hollowing out” of the armed forces must end, with Britain expected to lead within Nato and move faster to exploit and integrate new technology.
The comments came as the head of Britain’s foreign intelligence service warned that the country was operating in a space between peace and war.
New MI6 chief Blaise Metreweli, making her first public speech since becoming head of the agency, said Russia was testing Western countries through tactics kept below the threshold of open conflict.
She said drones over airports and airbases, cyber-attacks on infrastructure and information warfare were examples of Russia’s hybrid approach.
“We are now operating in a space between peace and war,” Metreweli said, describing Russia as an aggressive and revisionist power. She said it was important to understand attempts to intimidate and manipulate, as they affected the whole of society.
She added that the UK would continue to apply pressure on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine, now in its fourth year.
Putin’s warning to Europe
The warnings from London follow Russian President Vladimir Putin’s remarks earlier this month, when he said Russia was ready to fight if European powers started a war with Moscow.
Putin said that if Europe initiated a conflict, it would end so decisively that there would be no one left to negotiate a peace deal. While insisting Russia did not want a war with Europe, he said Moscow was ready to respond if one began.
He dismissed claims that Russia could attack a Nato member if it succeeded in Ukraine, calling such warnings nonsense, and accused European powers of blocking peace efforts while supporting Kyiv.
Putin also threatened to cut Ukraine’s access to the sea in response to drone attacks on Russian tankers in the Black Sea.
European governments have been increasing defence spending amid concerns that the United States, under President Donald Trump, wants Europe to take primary responsibility for its own conventional defence.
For Britain, defence and intelligence leaders say that requires faster action, greater investment and public readiness for sacrifice in the face of a growing threat.
(With inputs from Reuters)