Commentary: Ukraine crisis exposes the cracks in UK defence policy

 
22 April 2014

One of the few clear conclusions from the Ukraine crisis so far for Britain is that our foreign, defence and security policy is a bit of a mess.

When the coalition Government took office four years ago, it was reasonable to expect there would have to be serious cuts in the defence budget. The problem was where and how those cuts would come.

The defence review of 2010 scrapped the new Nimrod MRA4 maritime patrol aircraft on the grounds that it would be too expensive and not fit for purpose.

The lack of Nimrod patrol aircraft makes nonsense of the UK’s Trident nuclear deterrent, on which the Government is about to spend billions for an upgrade. The submarine-carried missile system depends on surprise and stealth. Now we have precious little of either — for each UK ballistic missile boat has to go back to its base in the Clyde every three months or so.

The role of the earlier Nimrods was to carry out patrols to make sure no hostile submarines could clock precisely when each UK nuclear boat entered and left.

Recently General Sir Richard Shirreff, the outgoing deputy supreme commander at Nato, warned the Royal Navy no longer had the capacity to fulfil some commitments to Nato. This is just as the alliance is required to give assurance of security in the area it was set up to protect — between the Atlantic and the Urals.

Next year we’re due another defence review — though sources report William Hague and the Foreign Office don’t want it.

They are probably right. What we need now are a few practical and affordable policies and measures to deal with the real threats now appearing.

These range from the huge threat of instability in Europe from Russia and Ukraine, the violence from the failed Arab Spring, Syria’s civil war included, and cyber and communications vulnerability.

Not only are the new risks and threats out there — they’re getting closer to our homes and shores by the day.

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