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DEFENCE

Labour pledges urgent review of Britain’s defence capabilities

John Healey, the shadow defence secretary, said recent conflicts should be a wake up call to ministers after years of underinvestment
Sir Keir Starmer and John Healey, centre, the shadow defence secretary, at the Tapa Nato forward operating base in Estonia, where they saw exercises and met soldiers deployed with the British armed forces
Sir Keir Starmer and John Healey, centre, the shadow defence secretary, at the Tapa Nato forward operating base in Estonia, where they saw exercises and met soldiers deployed with the British armed forces
STEFAN ROUSSEAU/PA

Britain has no means of preventing either a rogue missile attack on the country or the sabotage of vital underwater sea cables, Labour has warned, as the party pledged to launch an urgent review of Britain’s defence capabilities in government.

In an article for The Times below, John Healey, the shadow defence secretary, said that recent conflicts in the Ukraine and the Middle East should be a “wake up” call to ministers after years of underinvestment in the area.

The UK does not currently have any land-based air defences to protect critical infrastructure or population centres from attack by medium-range and long-range ballistic missiles.

The threat has always been considered minimal since the Cold War, with more pressing demands on other aspects of the defence budget. However, in the wake of the conflicts in the Ukraine and the Middle East Labour says it will look again at this approach if it comes to power next year, with a review of where such spending is allocated.

It follows moves by other European countries who have scrambled to procure air defences after watching Russia launch barrages of missiles and drones at Ukraine.

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Britain is currently reliant on the Royal Navy’s Type 45 destroyers, such as HMS Diamond, to shoot down drones, fighter jets and cruise missiles
Britain is currently reliant on the Royal Navy’s Type 45 destroyers, such as HMS Diamond, to shoot down drones, fighter jets and cruise missiles
PA

Meanwhile, rogue actors such as the Houthis have also demonstrated their ability to fire ballistic missiles thousands of kilometres in a further sign of the proliferation of long-range weapons.

Healey said that the party would conduct a comprehensive review of Britain’s defensive capabilities, adding that the “first duty of any government is to keep the nation safe”.

“The brutal and illegal invasion of Ukraine has shown that a country under threat or in conflict must have the capabilities to defend its citizens and prevent its territory from coming under attack,” he wrote.

“It must be a wake-up call on the need for a new defence plan for Britain.”

Labour sources said Healey was concerned that too little focus had been given to defensive capabilities in previous strategic defence and security reviews.

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In particular, he is concerned that the UK does not currently have the capacity to shoot down hostile missiles aimed at a settlement or piece of strategic infrastructure, such as a nuclear power station.

There are also worries over the security of critical underwater cables that facilitate telephone communications and internet access.

Israel’s missile defence system, the Arrow 3 interceptor, shot down a Houthi ballistic missile in its airspace last month
Israel’s missile defence system, the Arrow 3 interceptor, shot down a Houthi ballistic missile in its airspace last month

Both scenarios are contained in the government’s national risk register, which was published in the summer. This envisages an adversary nation attacking the UK mainland or overseas territories using a combination of conventional missiles and cyber operations.

It says that even if civilian centres were not targeted the economic costs of such a scenario would be “high”, alongside “significant impacts to essential services”.

Healey said it was unclear what, if any, contingency plans the Ministry of Defence had to deal with such threats, which was why it was necessary to conduct an “under the hood” review of the whole of Britain’s capacity to defend its territory.

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“This is why, in our first year, we’ll conduct a strategic defence and security review to assess the state of our armed forces, the nature of threats and the capabilities needed,” he said.

Defence sources say Britain does not have any land-based air defences comparable to the US or Israeli long-range systems.

Instead, it relies on the Royal Navy’s Type 45 destroyers, two of which are currently deployed in the Red Sea, to shoot down drones, fighter jets and cruise missiles. The army also has Starstreak, a shoulder-launched short-range system, but Britain would struggle to defend its major cities in the event of an attack by medium-range and long-range ballistic missiles.

Defence sources insist that hijacked aircraft present a more likely aerial threat to the UK and that ballistic missiles would have to traverse European airspace before hitting British cities.

But the conflict in the Middle East has challenged some of these assumptions, with the Houthis rebels in Yemen demonstrating their ability to fire ballistic missiles thousands of kilometres. Israel used its Arrow 3 air defences to shoot down a Houthi ballistic missile in space last month, and Germany has signed a €4 billion deal to buy the systems.

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Meanwhile, North Korea tested an intercontinental ballistic missile that can reportedly reach anywhere in the US this week.

Read the article below in full

Soon after he became leader of the Labour Party in 2020, Sir Keir Starmer pledged: “Never again will Labour go into an election not being trusted on national security” (John Healey writes).

As the party that helped found Nato and established the UK’s nuclear deterrent, defence is in our DNA. With war in Europe and increasing threats further afield, we have all been reminded of the importance of security at home and abroad as the cornerstone of our nation.

In my speech at Labour’s party conference in October, I set out Labour’s plan for defence — saying we would reinforce protections for the UK, ensure our Nato obligations are fulfilled in full, make allies our strategic strength, renew the nation’s moral contract with those who serve and reform defence procurement.

A nation must be secure at home to be strong abroad — a message that Keir and I reinforced on our recent visit to Estonia, thanking British troops for their service ahead of Christmas.

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The first duty of any government is to keep the nation safe and protect its citizens. Our changed Labour Party is determined to honour this obligation.

The brutal and illegal invasion of Ukraine has shown that a country under threat or in conflict must have the capabilities to defend its citizens and prevent its territory from coming under attack. It must be a wake-up call on the need for a new defence plan for Britain.

Ukraine has suffered cyberattacks, attacks on its power grid, disinformation and attacks from the air. The 2021 Integrated Review said the government would develop a “comprehensive national resilience strategy”. Instead, the government published a resilience “framework” that falls far short of a proper defence or resilience plan for the UK.

Ben Wallace, the former defence secretary, admitted that the Conservatives have “hollowed out and underfunded” our armed forces over the past 13 years, and the former head of our armed forces, General Sir Nick Carter, has warned MPs about the UK’s limited air defences.

In opposition, we can’t see under the hood of our defences — classified information on threats, capabilities and costs only become available to view in government.

This is why, in our first year, we’ll conduct a strategic defence and security review to assess the state of our armed forces, the nature of threats and the capabilities needed.

Another area of defence that is key to our homeland is the cables and pipelines that keep us connected to the world. Recent incidents involving undersea infrastructure in the Baltic have made us confront the importance of securing networks which are vital to our economy.

In 2017, when Rishi Sunak was a backbencher, he published a report on the importance and threat to undersea cables.

He wrote: “A successful attack would deal a crippling blow to Britain’s security and prosperity. The threat is nothing short of existential. Working with global partners it is crucial that we act now to protect against these dangers, ensuring that our century’s greatest innovation does not also become its undoing.”

Yet, as prime minister his Integrated Review for this year does not mention critical cables or pipelines once. Such blind spots in our national security plans must be overcome.

The lessons from what is happening in the world point to risks we’ve overlooked for too long. Defence of the nation is the number one duty of any government, and Labour will always do what is required to keep Britain safe.

John Healey is Labour’s Shadow Defence Secretary

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