Defence Secretary backs Army chief's 'powerful' nation must make sacrifices speech
Wes Streeting has said he "fully endorses" a speech by the Chief of the General Staff in which he said Britons need to make sacrifices to pay more for defence.
General Sir Roly Walker said a frank conversation was needed with UK citizens to prioritise the military in national spending – a move Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch described as a "powerful intervention".
Mr Streeting was speaking at the opening of a Rheinmetall gun factory which will produce large-calibre barrels in the UK for the first time in 20 years.
A national conversation needed
He said: "I fully endorse what the Chief of the General Staff said just the other day.
"I think it's really important that the heads of all our Armed Forces find themselves in front of the microphones, not just in front of the troops.
"They'll be an important part of the national conversation we need to have."
In recent years, military chiefs have rarely been seen commenting publicly.
The Defence Secretary went on the say there is an important conversation to be had "in terms of what CGS was describing of a nation needing to come together to fight and win".
Mr Streeting described the military chiefs as credible message-carriers because of their expertise and experience.
He said threats to the UK ranged from the mapping of underwater cables and live firing exercises in the English Channel to attacks on the countries bordering Ukraine.
"We have to step up and take seriously our national resilience as well as our national defence," he added.
Filmed by BFBS Forces News at Catterick Garrison last week, Gen Sir Roly told soldiers that politicians had to explain to British people "that our citizens have got to consent to sacrifices to prioritise defence and security".
The Government has pledged to spend 3% of GDP on defence by the next Parliament – it currently spends 2.6%.
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