Defence Secretary John Healey has pledged that the Government will reverse "decades" of military cuts by growing the British Army to at least 76,000 troops.Speaking to GB News, Healey claimed this marks the first Government in "a generation" that is not looking to cut troop numbers further.FULL STORY HERE.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00I was talking to you about the Defence Review and the Prime Minister was very clear yesterday, wasn't he,
00:04that there's no greater necessity than protecting citizens, nothing greater than defending this great country.
00:10But yet no timeline, no guarantee and no commitment on 3% spending on GDP,
00:16which is what is essential in order to implement these changes.
00:20Why not? They seem to blunt the argument.
00:24No, what he said as well, the Prime Minister yesterday was,
00:26we are committed to spending what we need to deliver this review.
00:29The review is based on the government spending plans, not just the aim to hit 3% in the next Parliament,
00:36but the confirmation that three years early, in two years' time, we'll hit 2.5% of GDP on defence.
00:43That's a level we've not spent in this country for 15 years,
00:47and it's part of a record uplift in defence spending, the largest since the end of the Cold War.
00:54And it starts this year with an extra £5 billion.
00:58It means that I can get on as Defence Secretary by putting into action some of the recommendations in the review yesterday.
01:04So part of the review suggested that we need to increase troop numbers to 100,000,
01:13currently at around 70,000, the lowest in 300 years.
01:16How are you going to boost those numbers? What's your plan to achieve that?
01:21Well, first of all, you're right. This review is the first for a generation
01:25that doesn't look to hollow out our armed forces further.
01:29Instead, it looks to build out the forces, grow the forces and grow jobs.
01:34On troop numbers, the review said, look, there's a case for a small uplift.
01:38And I was able to confirm yesterday that, proud to say, the first Defence Secretary,
01:43and this is the first government for decades,
01:45that is not looking to cut numbers further and that we will reverse the long-term decline
01:53and we will grow the strength of the British Army to at least 76,000 into the next Parliament.
02:01So, let's get started.