The state of the UK's military forces has come under scrutiny following comments from various political figures and the US Navy Secretary. Labour MP John Healey criticized the Conservative government for hollowing out the UK's Armed Forces over the past 14 years. He announced that Labour intends to conduct a Strategic Defence Review to assess the threats and capabilities needed to defend the UK. The US Navy Secretary has also made a rare criticism of British defence policy, suggesting the UK should reassess the size of its military. Downing Street has defended its defence spending in light of these comments. Defence Secretary Ben Wallace acknowledged the issue, warning that decades of underfunding have significantly weakened the military. The British Army's numbers have reportedly fallen to levels not seen since the 1700s due to budget cuts.
UK needs bigger military – US Navy chief Budget cuts have resulted in the British Army’s numbers falling to levels not seen since the 1700s https://t.co/xOOz48brgW https://t.co/R2qhfEoGAw
Following the comments by US naval chief that the U.K. needs to increase its armed forces, Ben Wallace warns decades of under-funding has left our military “hollowed out” @theipaper https://t.co/uEBzpi4Fn8
Downing Street defends defence spending as US navy chief calls for UK to ‘reassess’ https://t.co/xBffonagBU
🔴 US Navy Secretary says UK should 'reassess' the size of its military in rare criticism of British defence policy Read more ⬇️ https://t.co/fSqhSRE0E1 https://t.co/EGdGhitA9m
Over 14 years the Conservatives have hollowed out our Armed Forces. Labour will conduct a Strategic Defence Review in our first year to assess fully the state of our Armed Forces, the threats against us and the capabilities needed to defend the UK. https://t.co/djs14mB0nS
This is the reality of 14 years of conservative government. https://t.co/HAlizCO6Vs