Panic in Britain – who admits: not ready for war with Russia

Britain is not prepared for a large-scale conflict, and does not even have an organized plan to explain how the country is supposed to go from a normal state to a state of war, as the Chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the British Army, Sir Richard Knighton, publicly admitted yesterday (Monday). Knighton made unusually harsh remarks to Parliament’s defense committee in London, with another warning ahead of a potential major confrontation with Russia.

According to him, Britain currently does not have a comprehensive national plan for the defense of the home in the event of war, including the preparation of the health system to treat a large number of casualties. Knighton confirmed that there is no clear mechanism for recruiting doctors, nurses and civilian hospitals in the event of a widespread conflict in Europe, a situation that could collapse the health service, which is also dealing with heavy loads.

Beyond that, Knighton revealed a bleak picture in the budgetary arena as well. He admitted that the Ministry of Defense is unable to finance all the equipping plans and targets set out in the recently published Strategic Defense Review. When asked directly about reports according to which there is a budget hole of about £28 billion in the next four years, he avoided the word cuts, but made it clear that the existing money is simply far from enough.

Simply put, Knighton told MPs that if the UK wants to both implement all the existing plans and meet the new targets, the answer is no – it’s not possible within the current budget.

One of the most shocking things in his words was the confirmation that Britain had not yet renewed what used to be called the government’s “war book”. This is a comprehensive document that was originally created in World War I, and was updated throughout the Cold War, and included instructions for the entire country on how to transition from a state of peace to a state of war. From the army and the police, through the hospitals and industry, to the education system and even cultural institutions.

This document was abandoned after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and since then has not been replaced by a modern plan, despite the Russian invasion of Ukraine as early as 2014 and the expansion of the invasion into full-scale war from 2022. Knighton explained that the absence of the plan is a result of what he called the “peace dividend” – long years in which governments of all parties preferred to direct resources to welfare and health, at the expense of preparing for military threats.

Against this background, the political criticism was not slow to arrive. The one who harshly attacked Prime Minister Keir Starmer is far-right Reform Party leader Nigel Farage. In an article and a series of public statements, Farage accused Starmer of a lax and spineless approach to defense spending.

According to him, Britain today looks like a “military dwarf” in the international arena, precisely at a time when the world seems to be approaching a series of dangerous conflicts. Farage cited threats from Russia, instability in Iran, and Trump’s bellicose remarks about Greenland, and claimed it was “simply terrifying” that Britain is entering such a period with a huge budget hole and no clear plan.

Farage argued that the failure to adequately fund the armed forces was a direct result of the Starmer-led Labor leadership, and warned that Britain could be drawn into international conflicts without any real ability to defend itself or contribute to its allies. In practice, it is important to note, the failure to strengthen the army at the budgetary level began long before the rise of the Labor government, and was also prominent during various governments of the Conservative Party.

Meanwhile, the government is trying to convey that the situation is under treatment. Knighton noted that the Cabinet and the Ministry of Government Affairs are working on formulating a comprehensive national plan, and that the military part should be ready within the next year. However, the timetables for the preparations of the health system and other branches of the state vary according to estimates between a year and a year and a half.