UK Must Be Ready For War In 1,000 Days, Defence Secretary Warns

Britain needs to be ready for war in 1,000 days, according to the defence secretary. Writing for The Telegraph , Wes Streeting said Britain’s enemies could be ready to attack the UK by 2030 – especially as Russia takes its hybrid warfare against Nato up a notch. “My defining priority... is to make sure that this country is ready to fight and win a war,” the cabinet minister said. “To prevent the worst, we have to prepare for it. In the first instance, that means expanding our capabilities so our adversaries think twice about attacking us.

Should that fail, we must ensure that Britain is ready for war.” He continued: “By 2030 their force strength and war economy could put them in a position to attack. “That gives us a little over 1,000 days to complete our mission: to be ready with our allies to fight and win. “This government will make sure it is mission accomplished.” It comes after the government announced its “be ready” campaign , urging Brits to stockpile three days’ worth of water, non-perishable food and hygiene products in the event of an emergency.

Labour has warned that anything from a cyper-attack from an adversary to a severe weather event driven by the climate crisis could upend our way of life – and Brits must be ready for it. The government wants the public to be ready to live for at least three days without supermarket access or an electronic payments system. A significant cyber issue emerged last week when websites across the world were shut down after two AI companies found a critical cyber-security flaw in a popular programme language, PHP.

Meanwhile, reports discovered this week that Russia had deployed fishing trawlers to spy on the UK’s undersea cables. Streeting said: “Our adversaries’ willingness to harm us is not new. What has changed is their capacity. “By 2030 their force strength and war economy could put them in a position to attack. That gives us a little over 1,000 days to complete our mission: to be ready with our allies to fight and win. This government will make sure it is mission accomplished.”

However, Streeting also appeared to hint that chancellor John Healey would not be able to commit 3% of GDP (gross domestic product) by 2030 to defence spending in next week’s Budget. He said the strategic objective of preparing for war was being lost “amidst a fixation with percentages and dates”. Though Healey resigned from Keir Starmer’s government over his inability to meet that target, Andy Burnham’s government now appears to have shifted its focus to 3.5% of GDP on defence by 2035.

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