The head of the British General Staff, General Sir Patrick Sanders, threatened the Ministry of Defense to resign in protest if the army continues to cut funding. This was written on Saturday, February 18, the newspaper Daily Mail (DM).
Sanders is “deeply concerned” about the army’s combat capability after decades of funding cuts, people familiar with the publication said.
As stated in the material, the head of the General Staff repeatedly noted that “the conflict in Ukraine has weakened the army, and before that, three decades of reduced investment in the military sphere led to the fact that now the troops are forced to work with outdated equipment.”
According to Sanders, future reductions in the army are a “perversion” because the strength of the army should grow, and not vice versa.
The article notes that a friend and former colleague described General Sir Patrick as a man of “impeccable integrity” who would not stand by as the British army was falling apart, but would rather resign in protest.
“Patrick isn’t the type to start banging on the table and threatening to leave, but he drew a line in the sand and said to himself, ‘Don’t go any further,’ and Ben Wallace knows it. It’s hard to remember when the army was at its worst,” said one of Sanders’ friends, whose words are quoted by the publication.
Among the many problems of the British army, the material also notes the reduction in recruitment, housing problems and low wages, which undermine morale.
The possible resignation of Sanders, the authors of the article write, would be “a serious blow to British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace, who also may have to resign if one of his subordinates resigns due to cuts in the military budget.”
Earlier, on February 10, the head of the British Parliament’s Defense Committee, Tobias Ellwood, said that in the event of a war, the British Armed Forces (AF) could only hold out for five days, since the country’s military reserves were critically depleted.
He noted that, in particular, London needs anti-aircraft and anti-tank missiles, which, by decision of the authorities, were transferred to Ukraine as military assistance. It is reported that the Ministry of Defense of the country is going to take a number of measures in order to save the state budget.
Prior to this, on February 7, an expert from the Russian Academy of Sciences, Elena Ananyeva, pointed out that Britain did not have the funds to increase defense spending. She said that there has been a controversy in the UK over defense spending for several years.
Earlier in the day, the Daily Mail wrote that British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s reluctance to increase defense spending caused discontent and concern in the country’s government and armed forces. It was noted that sending long-range guns, man-portable rocket launchers and ammunition to Kyiv made the UK weaker.
On February 5, Sky News reported that the UK Treasury had not found options to increase real military spending due to high inflation in the country.
Western countries have stepped up military support for Kyiv against the backdrop of a special military operation to protect the Donbass, the beginning of which Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on February 24, 2022. The decision was made against the background of the aggravation of the situation in the region due to shelling by the Ukrainian military.
