MPs Warn UK Has No Coherent Plan to Defend Itself as Government Races to Boost Military Readiness
Parliamentary defence committee calls out gaps in homeland security while new arms factories and defence investments are announced
The United Kingdom lacks a comprehensive plan for defending the homeland and its overseas territories from military attack, according to a stark assessment by the House of Commons defence committee.
The report, released amid growing anxiety over European security, says the country is falling short of meeting its obligations under the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and is unprepared for the scale and speed of modern conflict.
Committee chair Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi said Russia’s war against Ukraine, repeated airspace incursions and sustained disinformation efforts underline the need for an urgent reset of the UK’s defence posture.
He argued that ensuring national resilience will require greater transparency and more direct engagement with the public about the risks Britain faces and what societal mobilisation may look like in a crisis.
The government, for its part, is moving to rebuild defence capability after years of industrial decline.
Defence secretary John Healey is expected to confirm that more than a dozen sites across the UK have been identified for new munitions and energetics factories, with ground to be broken on the first facility next year.
The plan includes producing explosives, pyrotechnics and propellants domestically for the first time in nearly two decades, and creating at least one thousand jobs in areas such as Grangemouth, Teesside and Milford Haven.
Healey will also announce the opening of two drone-manufacturing facilities in Plymouth and Swindon as part of a broader push to make defence an engine of economic growth.
The Ministry of Defence has already committed one and a half billion pounds in additional funding for energetics and munitions, and the government intends to build at least six new factories before the next election.
Senior ministers say the investment marks a clear break with the past and will ensure the armed forces are no longer left “hollowed out and underfunded”.
The push comes as prime minister Keir Starmer meets European leaders to discuss the UK’s participation in a proposed one hundred and fifty billion euro European defence fund.
With the committee warning that readiness gaps remain significant, the coming months will test how quickly the government can convert its plans into tangible improvements in the nation’s ability to deter and respond to emerging threats.
The report, released amid growing anxiety over European security, says the country is falling short of meeting its obligations under the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and is unprepared for the scale and speed of modern conflict.
Committee chair Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi said Russia’s war against Ukraine, repeated airspace incursions and sustained disinformation efforts underline the need for an urgent reset of the UK’s defence posture.
He argued that ensuring national resilience will require greater transparency and more direct engagement with the public about the risks Britain faces and what societal mobilisation may look like in a crisis.
The government, for its part, is moving to rebuild defence capability after years of industrial decline.
Defence secretary John Healey is expected to confirm that more than a dozen sites across the UK have been identified for new munitions and energetics factories, with ground to be broken on the first facility next year.
The plan includes producing explosives, pyrotechnics and propellants domestically for the first time in nearly two decades, and creating at least one thousand jobs in areas such as Grangemouth, Teesside and Milford Haven.
Healey will also announce the opening of two drone-manufacturing facilities in Plymouth and Swindon as part of a broader push to make defence an engine of economic growth.
The Ministry of Defence has already committed one and a half billion pounds in additional funding for energetics and munitions, and the government intends to build at least six new factories before the next election.
Senior ministers say the investment marks a clear break with the past and will ensure the armed forces are no longer left “hollowed out and underfunded”.
The push comes as prime minister Keir Starmer meets European leaders to discuss the UK’s participation in a proposed one hundred and fifty billion euro European defence fund.
With the committee warning that readiness gaps remain significant, the coming months will test how quickly the government can convert its plans into tangible improvements in the nation’s ability to deter and respond to emerging threats.
