Britain’s armed forces are teetering on the “brink of disaster” owing to chronic underinvestment, the former head of the Royal Navy has warned.
Lord West of Spithead, who commanded the force for four years in the early 2000s, called on the Government to set out precisely how it intends to raise the funds for the forthcoming Defence Investment Plan.
He was amongst a number of peers who rounded on the current state of the armed forces, as their former chief, Lord Stirrup, cautioned that an inadequate funding announcement would perpetuate decades of “hollowing out” of the services.
Meanwhile, Lib Dem peer Lord Lee of Trafford, a former defence minister, declared that the condition of the Royal Navy is a “national embarrassment”.
The Government has confirmed that the Defence Investment Plan (Dip), which will outline long-term funding and strategy for the armed forces, will be published ahead of the Nato summit in Ankara, Turkey, next month.
Defence minister Lord Coaker acknowledged the shortcomings, conceding that the Government ought to have done more to convince the public of the argument for cuts in order to finance defence spending.
Lord West, a Labour former defence minister, said: “Our armed forces and our defence industries, I believe, are teetering on the brink of disaster due to lack of investment over certainly the last 15 years but actually even longer and a lack of decisions recently about spending the money that apparently is being released for defence.
“There is no doubt they are in a very parlous state.” He added: “What are we doing in terms of trying to identify where the money can be found quickly to cover the things that need to be spent now.
“There is no doubt … that he is scarred by the shambles of the Defence Investment Plan, what are we doing about finding that money and getting going? Otherwise we’ve got a real, real problem.”
Lord Coaker said: “He’s right to point out the need for us to increase our capability. We are doing that.
“In terms of countering the Russian threat as it stands at the moment, we are not standing still, we are taking action with both our RAF Typhoons, with working with our Nato allies in the North Atlantic, and the high north.”
Crossbench peer Lord Stirrup stressed that funding was critically required for “resource expenditure” alongside capital investment.
The former Chief of the Defence Staff, who commanded the armed forces from 2006 to 2010, stated: “It pays for fuel and spares which our people need to conduct the training fundamental to their operational capability. It pays their salaries, it pays for the standard of their accommodation.
“Would he agree that any plan which the minister of defence brings forward which does not fund resource adequately will just continue the hollowing out of our armed forces which has taken place over the last two decades?”
Lord Coaker concurred, responding: “If you don’t get the resource allocation right then you impact on the morale of the very people you want to serve our country.” On Sunday, David Lammy told the BBC the Government’s commitment to spending 3% of GDP on defence was “absolutely sacrosanct”.
The Sunday Times reported Sir Keir Starmer would target net zero and transport for cuts to fund defence.
Sir Keir told reporters last week the plan would be a “step up” during a visit to a drone factory in Swindon.
Lord Coaker was asked in the House of Lords on Monday whether the Government had been sufficiently effective in making the case to the public for departmental cuts to finance defence spending.
Labour former minister Lord Hunt of King’s Heath said: “It’s pretty clear that some resources are going to have to be found from other expenditures in government.
“Does he think the Government’s doing enough to get this across to the public?”
He said: “I’ve been made responsible for the national conversation. Should we have done more already? Probably, we should have done, but we will do, because we do need to persuade people and talk to people about the threats that we face.”
Lord Lee criticised the condition of Britain’s naval forces and said: “We all sing Rule Britannia, but the reality is that our navy, at the present time, frankly is a national embarrassment.
“Obviously we’re glad that the Prince of Wales is now back in action, but would the minister comment on newspaper reports that all our non-ballistic submarines are in dock and not available for current operations?” Lord Coaker revealed the Government was pouring £4.5 billion into Plymouth dockyards, while emphasising that Scottish dockyards required additional investment. He conceded the Government must “do better” regarding submarine availability.