Britain’s armed forces must be prepared to “fight and win” to prevent the spread of war in Europe, the new head of the Army is warning. In a speech on Tuesday, General Sir Patrick Sanders, the Chief of the General Staff, will say he had never seen such a clear threat to peace and democracy as the “brutal aggression” of Russian president Vladimir Putin.
He will liken the current situation to the run up to the Second World War, saying Britain must be prepared to “act rapidly” to ensure it is not drawn into a full-scale conflict through its failure to contain Russian expansionism. His latest warning, in an address to a conference organised by the Royal United Services Institute think tank, comes after he wrote to all the troops under his command telling them they must prepare “to fight in Europe once again”.
Speaking at the same event, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace is expected to issue a fresh call for increased defence spending in the years ahead to counter the growing threat. His call comes as Prime Minister Boris Johnson prepares to join other Nato leaders in Madrid for a summit at which they are expected to agree the biggest overhaul of the Western military alliance since the end of the Cold War.
