Sending UK ships to police Strait of Hormuz ‘a fantasy’ because Armed Forces are so depleted, former defence secretary warns
Former defense secretary Ben Wallace has warned that sending British warships to police the Strait of Hormuz is a “fantasy” because the UK armed forces are already exhausted.
Mr Wallace, who served as defense minister under three Conservative prime ministers, said such a move, which Armed Forces Minister Luke Pollard refused to lead, risked “leaving our troops dangerously unprotected and overstretched”.
He called on the government to properly fund Britain’s defence, and accused ministers of “taking the public for fools” after the current defense secretary, John Healey, insisted the UK was prepared to defend itself.
The intervention comes in the hope that peace talks between the United States and Iran will begin in Pakistan on Saturday, solidifying a fragile two-week ceasefire that has lasted more than a month in Donald Trump’s Middle East war.
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch also warned that Mr Trump’s “America First” approach to foreign policy was here to stay and Britain should respond accordingly.
In a speech to the London Defense Conference, he pledged to increase the size of the British army by 20,000 if he wins back power, amid growing questions about whether Labor is serious about meeting the 5 per cent of GDP target for defense and security spending it has committed to in the next parliament.
Sir Keir Starmer spoke to Mr Trump on Thursday night about the need for a “practical plan” to allow ships to again pass through the Bosphorus, which is blockaded by Tehran, following the announcement of a conditional ceasefire in the US-Iran conflict. Mr Trump reportedly demanded that NATO allies send warships to the troubled region within days.
Asked about the possibility of the Navy being deployed to the vital shipping route, Sir Ben, who served as defense minister from 2019 to 2023, said: Independent: “These are just dreams, they are talking about deploying troops to the Bosphorus even though they know very well that they are cutting their operating budgets.
“There is a risk of leaving our troops dangerously unprotected and dangerously overstretched.
“John Healey needs to muster up some courage and start preparing to take on the Treasury and Number 10. [for more funding]but also start being honest with the British public.”
Arguing that Mr Healey’s claim that Britain was “ready” to defend itself was “demonstrably false”, Sir Ben added: “The problem is that they simply cannot make the tough political decisions… So we are left with utterly hollow platitudes and partisan comments from a Labor Party that thinks the solution is a diversion.”
MPs on both sides of the House have already expressed concern over the government’s failure to publish its Defense Investment Plan.
It was claimed that the delay in sending HMS Dragon to Cyprus, weeks after the Iran crisis began and Britain’s base on the island was attacked by Tehran, was due to savings during the year.
Questions also remain about reducing the size of the UK army to around 70,000, which uses weak and outdated heavy vehicles and tanks.
Senior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, Dr. Sidharth Kaushal said: Independent More money needs to be spent if the government wants to “close most of the under-resourced gap in defence”.
“The UK certainly still benefits from the strategic depth of alliances and some pretty impressive niche capabilities across each of the services.
“But its armed forces are in what you might call a transition period where we’re transitioning from an era of small wars to an era where large-scale conflict is a very credible possibility. And that transition is by no means complete.”
When asked about Mr. Wallace’s warnings, Dr. “I think it’s probably true that more money should be spent than is currently being spent to close many of the under-resourced gaps in defence,” Kaushal said.
This came just days after a former senior military commander said the British army was so exhausted it could only “capture a small market town on a good day”.
But when asked at Friday’s London Defense Conference whether Britain was prepared to defend itself, Mr Healey said: “Yes, and I think what I have set out shows how ready our forces are if needed.”
Pointing to the monitoring of three Russian submarines found operating in the North Atlantic, he added: “Whilst people are rightly concerned about the conflict in the Middle East, we’re not taking our eyes off Putin, we’re not taking our eyes off the primary threat, and we do have an armed forces that is demonstrating its capabilities to track and deter and if necessary, there are options to respond as well.”
Ms Badenoch used her speech to announce that she would use cuts in welfare spending to fund the biggest expansion in the size of the army since the Second World War, with 6,000 more regular soldiers and 14,000 more reservists.
“The mirror is that [Trump] “The fact that we are resisting Europe and being so uncomfortable looking inward shows us that we cannot defend ourselves properly without the United States,” he said, and continued: “Europe’s strategic autonomy is a fairy tale right now.”
“I have announced that the next Conservative government will reintroduce the two-child benefit limit and spend the money on defence. This will fund the largest net increase in British troops under any government since the Second World War.”
“We will use the money to recruit 6,000 regular soldiers and 14,000 reservists and cover their accommodation and equipment costs.”
Labor Secretary Luke Pollard, who is responsible for defense preparedness and industry, responded: “Kemi Badenoch’s message is: The Conservative Party emptied Britain’s defenses, now they’ve recommissioned us. Nobody will take this seriously.”
The Ministry of Defense has been contacted for comment.
