World is MORE dangerous than in the Cold War – but we can’t even defend ourselves, ex-Brit Navy chief warns

THE world is more dangerous now than during the Cold War – and Britain isn’t ready to defend itself, a former Navy chief has warned.

Lord Admiral West blasted the “too little, too late” defence budget hike, while despairing over our “hollowed out” armed forces and the future vulnerability of the Royal Navy.

The Sun

Lord Admiral West told The Sun’s World at War that the world today is more dangerous than the Cold War era[/caption]

The Sun

He blamed UK’s vulnerability on a lack of spending – but said military leaders had finally ‘woken up’ to the dangers of today[/caption]

Lord West questioned whether the UK was ready for the ‘pre-war’ environment

Speaking on The Sun’s World at War show, Lord West argued that “at long last” the world was waking up to the multiple threats that our small island faces.

The former First Sea Lord fully agreed with PM Rishi Sunak’s assessment last month that the world is “more volatile and dangerous” than at any time since the Cold War.

However, he went further to say that that the nuclear saber-rattling era was “safer in some ways because everyone understood it”.

The world now, he argued, is “very unpredictable” as he listed off the wars in Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan and the escalating tensions in the South China Sea.

But as we move into what British leaders have called a “pre-war world”, West declared that our armed forces are “not of a size they should be”.

He said: “At long last, I think people are understanding: ‘Goodness me, we’ve taken too much out of defence’,” but added that for too long the forces have been “hollowing out.”

The Falklands War hero added: “Spending on defence often stops wars. It shows people you mean business and it deters… We need to actually knuckle down to that now.”

The UK’s plan to raise defence spending by 2.5 per cent by 2030 that should produce an extra £75billion for the armed forces is “too little, too late,” Lord West argued.

“Thank God they’ve seen there’s a problem,” he said, but believes it should be higher than 3 per cent to shore up our defences.

‘BRITAIN NEEDS MORE SHIPS NOW’

The fighting abilities of the Royal Navy were also front and centre of Lord West’s worries.

He questioned Defence Secretary Grant Shapps statement that the UK was in a “golden age of shipbuilding” – and pointed to years of subpar investment.

If Britain finds itself in a “hot war”, he said: “What we haven’t got is the scale to ensure, for example, protection of the important trade across the Atlantic.

“We don’t have sufficient ships to make sure they’re with the carrier to do the carrier strike operations that need to be done.”

Lord West also spoke of how new warships, including Type 26 frigates with anti-submarine warfare are unlikely to be ready until the mid-2030s.

AP

A UK soldier onboard a Brit Challenger 2 tank during training[/caption]

British Royal Engineers squadron winter training 80 miles from the Russian border

The UK must invest now in future warships, Lord West argued

“The last of them we won’t have until the 2040s or something. That is no good if a war happens in the next three to four years.”

The problem, he argued, was a lack of investment made far enough in advance that in the years to come will leave the Royal Navy will be left empty and vulnerable.

Lord West said: “Where is the money in the programme for these? There was no money in there until it was announced by Grant Shapps last week.

“And we’ve done this consistently with our orders within shipbuilding. And that is why we’re in the parlous state we are now.

“We should have made sure we ordered things earlier…. [because] suddenly there will be a drop, because ships will fall off the end of their lives and there’ll be nothing there.”

UK forces have been ‘hollowed out’ Lord West said

British troops drive Jackal combat vehicles during a Nato military exercise in Poland

The Royal Navy’s Merlin helicopter from 820 Naval Air Squadron, fires flares above HMS Prince of Wales

The ex-Royal Navy Chief and Falklands War hero said the UK is not ready for a ‘hot war’