British armed forces are not prepared to combat or deter future aggression, warns Healey

Defense Secretary John Healey says British forces are not ready to go to war and must do more to deter future aggression

The Defense Secretary warns that the British armed forces are not ready for war and must do more to deter future aggression.

John Healey has revealed ministers discovered the state of the armed forces was “far worse than we thought” after Labor entered government in July after 14 years of Conservative rule.

He praised the military for its high level of competence and willingness to conduct military operations, but warned that it would need to become more effective if the United Kingdom went to war.

During an interview on Politico's Power Play podcast, Mr Healey said: “The UK, like many other nations, has essentially become very competent and prepared to conduct military operations.”

“What we weren’t prepared to do is fight. And if we are not prepared to fight, we will not be able to deter.”

“Not only must we be able to defend our NATO countries, but more importantly, we must be more effective in the deterrence we can provide against future aggression.”

“Our armed forces must be able to innovate. We need to be able to take the new technologies and some of the lessons from Ukraine and make what we do more lethal and therefore more deterrent.”

The British Army battle group is ready to deploy across the Indo-Pacific region (Image: British Army) — The Defense Secretary spoke on Politico's Power Play podcast (Image: British Army)

Mr Healey's comments came as he was asked about Army Commander-in-Chief General Sir Roly Walker's comments that the UK must be prepared to fight a war in three years.

A report published earlier this year showed that fewer than one in 10 applicants ultimately joined the UK armed forces in 2023 due to delays in the recruitment process.

In addition, figures released by Labor showed that 74,000 potential recruits out of the 137,000 people who applied to join the navy, army and RAF last year gave up because the entire process took too long.

The British Army, whose recruitment has been managed by Capita since 2012, had reportedly lost 70% of its potential recruits.

And in March the minister was told that falling recruitment numbers in the UK armed forces posed a major risk to national security.

The British Army is currently suffering from recruitment problems that exceed those of the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy (Image: MOD) — The British Army is currently suffering from recruitment problems that surpass those of the RAF and Royal Navy (Image: MOD)

A government spokesman said: “This government will always do what is necessary to defend the country.”

“The UK Armed Forces are among the best in the world, providing 24/7 defense of the UK – working with our allies and partners to prepare for any event.”

“The strategic defense review will look at the threats we face and the capabilities we need to make our forces more combat-ready, integrated and innovative.”