Lord Robertson's critique on defence gives voice to AF community who can't speak out
The lead author of the Strategic Defence Review has a responsibility to speak up on behalf of the serving community, an Afghan veteran and advocate has said, ahead of comments by Lord Robertson that the UK is "underprepared, underinsured and under attack".
Jonny Ball, who co-founded the Afghanistan Veterans Community, said that UK personnel cope with the lack of investment in defence through jokes and humour.
Mr Ball's comments come before former Labour defence secretary Lord Robertson speaks to an audience in Salisbury, where he will say that the UK is not ready for war as a result of the "ever-expanding welfare budget", which has robbed defence of the money that it needs to defend the nation.
"I think people like Lord Robertson have a responsibility in our democracy to speak up on our behalf," Mr Ball told BFBS Forces News' Sofie Cacoyannis.
"Lord Robertson is someone of immense experience, both in defence and politics.
"So, the fact that he helps give us a voice and speaks on behalf of the Armed Forces community to those decision makers, to be able to lobby effectively, albeit in open public, is actually in the longer term quite helpful."
Both Lord Robertson and General Sir Richard Barrons, who also wrote the SDR, have said that the Iran war must be a wake-up call for the government to spend more on defence.
Lord Robertson, who was Nato Secretary General from 1999 to 2004, will say this evening that the Prime Minister is "not willing to make the necessary investment" and will accuse "non-military experts in the Treasury" of "vandalism", according to extracts of his speech published by the Financial Times.
Mr Ball, who served in Afghanistan as a Pashto linguist on Operation Herrick 15 from 2011 to 2012, said that serving personnel voice their frustration about defence spending on social media accounts such as Fill Your Boots, with its 91.9K followers on X, as well as through posting comments anonymously and sharing videos that show the impact of the underspend.
"I think the evidence around the impact this has on the serving population is usually done with good old-fashioned British humour," Mr Ball said.
"But underneath the humour is the serious point about the need to ensure that we're all kept safe and that those that are brave enough to step up and serve their nation feel fully supported by those that they serve."
Action not words, former defence secretary says
Lord Robertson will say that the UK's national safety and security is in peril due to "corrosive complacency" from the Labour government this evening.
Sir Liam Fox, a defence secretary during the coalition government, agreed with this sentiment in a post on X, saying that the problem lies with those who are making the decisions: the ministers and Sir Keir Starmer.
"It is ministers who decide priorities. We need a Prime Minister who understands his job is to lead in a time of security crises rather than debate legal niceties. Action not words," Sir Liam wrote.
Meanwhile, Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative Party leader, also highlighted her agreement with Lord Robertson's comments, telling BBC Radio 5 Live: "We used to spend one in every £7 on welfare. Now, it's one in every £3 and a lot of that money has basically been swapped for defence.
"The world is not as peaceful as it used to be. The peace dividend that existed after the fall of the Berlin Wall is gone, we need to spend more money on defence."
The government has committed to spend 2.5% of GDP on defence by 2027, increasing to 3% in the next parliament and a Nato-agreed target of 3.5% by 2035.
Tan Dhesi, the House of Commons Defence Committee chair, said the former Labour politician's remarks were "sobering".
"It is damning that a man of his stature and experience has to speak out publicly to get his message heard," Mr Dhesi said.
"When it comes to defence, the government's rhetoric promising action does not yet align with reality."
Additional reporting by Sofie Cacoyannis.
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