Armed Forces are not ready to fight or deter future aggression, Healey warns
The Armed Forces are not ready to fight in a war and must do more to act as a deterrent against future aggression, the Defence Secretary has warned.
John Healey said ministers found the state of the Armed Forces was "far worse than we thought" after Labour entered government in July, following 14 years of Conservative rule.
He praised the military for being highly skilled and being ready to conduct military operations, but warned it would have to become more effective if the UK had to go to war.
During an interview on Politico's Power Play podcast, Mr Healey said: "The UK, in keeping with many other nations, has essentially become very skilled and ready to conduct military operations.
"What we've not been ready to do is to fight. And unless we are ready to fight, we are not in a shape to deter.
"We've got to not just be capable of defending our Nato nations but, more importantly, got to be more effective in the deterrence that we can provide against any future aggression.
"Our forces need to be able to innovate. We need to be able to take the new technologies and some of the lessons from Ukraine and make what we do more lethal and therefore a stronger deterrence."
Mr Healey's comments came when he was asked about remarks made by the head of the Army, General Sir Roly Walker, that the UK must be ready to fight a war in three years.
A report published earlier this year showed that fewer than one in 10 applicants reportedly ended up joining the British Armed Forces in 2023, due to delays in the recruitment process.
Furthermore, figures unveiled by Labour showed that 74,000 potential recruits of the 137,000 people who applied to join the Navy, Army and RAF last year gave up because the overall process took too long.
The British Army, whose recruitment has been managed by Capita since 2012, reportedly had lost 70% of its potential recruits.
And, in March, minister were told falling levels of recruitment in the UK's Armed Forces is a profound national security risk.
A Government spokesperson said: "This government will always do what's required to defend the country.
"The UK's Armed Forces are amongst the best in the world and offer a 24/7 defence of the UK – operating alongside our allies and partners to prepare for any event.
"The Strategic Defence Review will look at the threats we face and the capabilities we need so that our Armed forces are better ready to fight, more integrated and more innovative."
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