Britain’s “sons and daughters” must be ready to fight Russia in case of an attack, the head of the British armed forces has warned. Chief of defence staff Sir Richard Knighton said Russia is a growing threat to the UK and the situation is “more dangerous than I have known during my career”.
He called on “people who are not soldiers, sailors or aviators to nevertheless invest their skills – and money” on building up national resilience, The Independent reported.
Sir Richard said: “Sons and daughters. Colleagues. Veterans. …will all have a role to play. To build. To serve. And if necessary, to fight. And more families will know what sacrifice for our nation means.
“That is why it’s so important we do explain the changing threat and the need to stay ahead of it.”
Knighton called for a society-wide approach to ‘defence and deterrence’ (Image: Getty)
During his speech at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) on Monday, Sir Richard said readiness is a priority because the nation’s armed forces always need to be “ready to fight and win”.
He added: “But deterrence is also about our resilience to these threats, it’s about how we harness all our national power, from universities, to industry, the rail network to the NHS.
“It’s about our defence and resilience being a higher national priority for all of us. An ‘all-in’ mentality.
“And that will require people who are not soldiers, sailors or aviators to nevertheless invest their skills – and money – in innovation and problem solving on the nation’s behalf.”
He said that Russia’s clear aim is to destroy NATO, announcing £50m for new defence technical excellence colleges, which provide short courses to ensure training for new and existing staff in the defence sector can be accessed more quickly.
In her first public speech taking up the role, the new head of MI6 Blaise Metreweli warned that Britain is already on the front line against Russia and the UK is facing an “age of uncertainty” as the rules of conflict are being rewritten by enemy actors.
Earlier this month, the head of the Royal Navy warned Britain must “step up” on defence or risk losing its advantage in the Atlantic, as Russia continues to spend billions on its capabilities at sea.
Last week, NATO secretary general Mark Rutte said Europe was “Russia’s next target”, urging countries to prepare for a “scale of war our grandparents or great-grandparents endured”.
