𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

As stinging criticism goes, Lord George Robertson’s scathing attack on Labour’s “corrosive complacency” regarding defence is about as strong as it gets. For months, the warnings over the state of Britain’s military have been getting louder and louder.

The intervention by Lord Robertson, a former NATO secretary general and Labour defence secretary who led the Government’s Strategic Defence Review (SDR), is perhaps the most deafening yet. Lord Robertson’s warning that the UK is “underprepared” and its “safety is in peril” will be ringing in the ears of officials within Whitehall. But what now is Labour’s move – continue with the defence delays, or wake up and smell the coffee that many will say has been brewing for years?

Decades of salami slicing have slowly chipped away at the armed forces. The Royal Navy has been at the centre of the storm in recent weeks.

The reality of repeated cuts and a lack of warships was horribly exposed as the Navy scrambled to get HMS Dragon to the Eastern Mediterranean, arriving three weeks after an RAF base on Cyprus was hit by a drone.

Warnings Iran had developed missiles capable of striking London – and that we are effectively sitting ducks without NATO help on the continent – have become another reminder of the parlous state of defence.

Yet the Government’s Defence Investment Plan, setting out details on new equipment orders and capabilities, remains nowhere to be seen after months of delays.

The Government says it will happen “as soon as possible”, but no date has been given. This pledge means very little to our hardworking defence industry, which has been left in “paralysis” by the holdup. It is understood that a tug of war between the Treasury and the Ministry of Defence over funding is the reason for the delay.

But Lord Robertson is very clear, this tussle is leaving Britain vulnerable as international stability teeters and creaks. His SDR co-author, Gen Sir Richard Barrons, agreed with his concerns.

Labour’s defence policy is being questioned like never before.

This is not political point-scoring, but as Gen Sir Richard points out, warnings from a long-term Labour politician who has “had to say it in these terms”.

For now, let’s hope Lord Robertson’s concerns of “complacency” and “peril” do not escalate to catastrophe.