A committee of MPs has warned that the UK does not have an adequate plan to defend itself from military attack and is overly dependent on US capabilities. In a strongly critical report, the defence committee said preparations to protect the UK and its overseas territories in the event of attack are “nowhere near” where they need to be.
Committee chair Labour MP Tan Dhesi said Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, ongoing disinformation campaigns and repeated airspace incursions across Europe mean the UK cannot ignore the threat. The committee calls on the government to assess where British forces can replace US capabilities if they were withdrawn, accelerate industrial change, and put readiness at the top of the agenda.
Defence Secretary John Healey has announced plans to move the UK to “war-fighting readiness,” including £1.5bn to support construction of new munitions factories to be built by private contractors. The government aims for an “always on” munitions production capacity that can be scaled quickly, restarting production of energetics (explosives, pyrotechnics and propellants) domestically after two decades of sourcing these materials from abroad. Healey says at least 1,000 new jobs will be created and hopes at least six new factories will be operational by the next election in 2029, with work on the first beginning next year.
The MoD has shortlisted 13 potential sites for new factories: three in Scotland (Dumfriesshire, Ayrshire, Grangemouth/Stirlingshire); eight in England (Teesside, Cumbria, Shropshire, Cheshire, Derbyshire, Essex, Worcestershire, Hampshire); and two in Wales (Monmouthshire and Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire). Healey will also announce two new drone factories in Plymouth and Swindon. He frames the push as making defence an engine for growth, backing British jobs and skills to boost national and economic security.
The government previously committed to raise UK defence spending to 3% of GDP by 2034 at the latest. Despite that, the committee warns that the UK and European NATO allies still rely too heavily on the US and are not investing enough in their own defences. It urges urgent strengthening of conventional and nuclear capabilities and improved joint working with NATO partners.
The report is also critical of the slow pace of improvements to civil defence and resilience, saying the UK risks failing to meet NATO Article 3 obligations to maintain and develop capacity to resist armed attack. The committee wants the government to improve public communication about the level of threat and what to expect in the event of conflict, arguing that whole-of-society support is crucial to national defence.
