Government rebuts former officials' claim that the Armed Forces have been hollowed out

The Government has dismissed claims by former defence leaders that the Armed Forces had been "hollowed out by years of chronic underfunding". 

It insisted it was "focused on delivering for Defence", poiinting out how the Prime Minister has committed to spend 3.5% of GDP on defence and security by 2035.

The rebuttal follows the news that an open letter was sent to Sir Keir Starmer, signed by three former defence secretaries, retired senior military chiefs and ex-MI6 head Sir Richard Dearlove, which said Britain was facing a "1936 moment" amid rising global tensions and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

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Our actions fall dangerously short, letter says

"As demands for defence increase, we are delivering the largest sustained increase in defence spending since the Cold War, with an additional £5bn this financial year alone and £270bn across this parliament – ensuring no return to the hollowed out Armed Forces of the past," a Government spokesperson said. 

"We make no apologies for delivering the largest pay rise in decades to our hard-working personnel and a £9bn housing strategy to renew tens of thousands of military homes after years of neglect."

The signatories to the letter, which was published in The Daily Telegraph, urged Sir Kier to increase defence spending to 5% of GDP. 

"Our actions fall dangerously short of matching this rhetoric and of meeting our treaty obligations," the letter said. 

"We are deluding ourselves if we believe Russia and our other adversaries are unaware of this."

Letter urges PM to raise defence spending

The letter comes after the BBC learnt that the Prime Minister was considering making a significant increase in defence spending. 

Downing Street is allegedly mulling the idea of meeting an existing spending target earlier than planned at a cost of billions of pounds. 

Sir Keir hinted at this attitude at the recent Munich Security Conference, saying: "To meet the wider threat, it's clear that we are going to have to spend more, faster."

But the letter remained critical of the current state of the Armed Forces.

"Recent reports highlight that your Government appears in denial over a stark reality: The Ministry of Defence faces a £28bn shortfall over the coming years simply to make Britain’s Armed Forces 'war-ready'," it said. 

"This gap - equivalent to nearly half the MoD's annual budget - hreatens to leave our forces under-equipped and overstretched at a time when readiness, already a weakness, is paramount."

The letter's signatories include former defence secretaries Sir Ben Wallace, Sir Grant Shapps and Sir Michael Fallon, as well as General Lord Dannatt, the former Chief of the General Staff, and Admiral Lord West, the former First Sea Lord. 

It also accused the Government of heaping "underfunded new costs" onto the Ministry of Defence, referencing the Chagos Islands deal, pay rises and potential compensation for an Afghan data leak.