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'Separate Trident From MoD Budget', Says Former Defence Minister

A former defence minister has said Britain's Armed Forces are overstretched and "down to the bone" as he outlined concerns about shortfalls across the military.

Ex-Armed Forces minister Sir Mike Penning, who was sacked in June, called for the £40 billion cost of replacing Trident nuclear submarines to be kept separate from the Ministry of Defence (MoD) budget, which he said should be focused on boosting operational capability.

Delivering his assessment of issues in the Army and Navy, Sir Mike said Special Forces are "almost continually on deployment", leaving them stretched and leading to problems retaining soldiers.

The former soldier claimed Royal Navy frigates which track Russian submarines can only stay at sea for five or six days at a time because they do not have fully rotational crews.

He added that troops have been deployed to Eastern Europe to counter Russian aggression with Jackal light vehicles designed for Afghanistan and only three tanks because it takes an "absolute age" to deploy the heavier vehicles.

His comments add to backbench Tory pressure on the Government to halt reported plans for major cuts to the military.

Former Grenadier Sir Mike told Forces News that 'things are very bad' at the moment:

"If we keep the Trident replacement costs inside the MoD budget it will get worse.

"That will mean we won't be available to do some of the work we want to do and people that serve in the Armed Forces will think 'Should I stay?' or 'Does this government care about this?'

"So I have called for the NATO 2% to be separated from the Trident replacement cost which I think should be a Treasury costing thing."

Responding to Sir Mike, a No10 spokeswoman said: “We are firmly committed to supporting our brave Armed Forces and giving them the backing they need in the face of intensifying threats.

“We have a £36 billion defence budget which will rise to almost £40 billion by 2020/21 – making us the biggest in Europe, second biggest in NATO and fifth largest in the world.

“We are also committed to increasing the defence budget by at least 0.5% above inflation every year for the rest of this Parliament.”

Sir Mike Penning MP on a visit to Hyde Park Barracks when he was a Defence Minister

The government has estimated that the Dreadnought-class subs, in what is previously known as the Successor programme (to replace the Vanguard-class) will cost £31 billion for their entire 30-year lifetime (this includes adjustments for inflation over that time).

That works out to 6% of defence spending annually, at the current rate.

In addition, the government has recommended that a further £10 billion be set aside as a "contingency".