Labour Blasts UK's 'Downright Reckless' Reliance On NATO Allies

Labour have claimed that Britain is reliant on ‘the goodwill of others’ in order to keep the country safe.

The claim comes in the wake of figures revealing that NATO allies deployed nearly 40 aircraft last year.

Defence Minister Tobias Ellwood has claimed that 37 maritime patrol aircraft were deployed to the airbase in 2016.

This includes aircraft from the US, Germany and France.

The numbers reveal that the number of NATO aircraft at RAF Lossimouth has increased by 76% since 2015.

The statement from Mr Ellwood came about as a response to a parliamentary question from shadow defence secretaryNia Griffith.

Labour have now claimed that the UK have been left reliant on allies to ensure the safety of the nation.

Their argument is bolstered by the fact that, in 2010, the conservative government made the decision to discontinue the development of new Nimrod aircraft.

The labour party have now said that the decision looks ‘downright reckless’ in the face of the new revelation.

Ms Griffith said:

"As an island nation, the ability to patrol our own shores and protect our key military assets is absolutely essential.”

She added: “We are thankful for our allies' support but this level of dependence is simply unacceptable.”

"Everywhere you look right now…the damage the Tories are doing to our armed forces is undermining our national security."

However, the Ministry of Defence said the number of operational flights in 2016 was lower than the previous year.

A spokesman said:

"Eighty percent of the flights in 2016 were exercises and the actual number of operational flights was lower last year than in 2015."

"In 2010 there was a £38 billion blackhole in the defence budget and difficult decisions had to be made, including scrapping Nimrod which was nine years late, £800m over budget, and had failed to produce one plane that was safe to fly."

"We work closely with our Nato allies on security in the North Atlantic and have robust force protection measures in place for our assets which we continually review."

We are investing in maritime patrol aircraft as part of our £178 billion equipment plan, with the first of our nine P8 aircraft set to be delivered in 2019 as planned."