London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 30, 2025

PM warned not to 'drop our guard' on military power as he boasts of boost to cyber defence

PM warned not to 'drop our guard' on military power as he boasts of boost to cyber defence

In a sign of potential clashes ahead, a senior Conservative warns that we "drop our guard on the conventional side at our peril".

Boris Johnson has said new efforts to radically boost the UK's cyber capabilities will "transform our ability to protect our people".

The impact of the new technology will be comparable to the emergence of military air power a century ago, the prime minister said.

His comments come ahead of next week's publication of the government's long-awaited Integrated Review - billed as the most significant strategic overhaul of the UK's foreign, defence, security and aid policy since the Cold War.

The prime minister says there will be a 'new, full-spectrum approach to cyber'


But in a sign of the likely political clashes ahead, the Conservative chair of the Defence Select Committee, Tobias Ellwood, has warned ministers not to overlook the need to bolster existing military capabilities, telling Sky News: "We drop our guard on the conventional side at our peril."

It comes as a report by the Defence Select Committee has criticised the UK army's ageing tanks and armoured vehicles, saying they could leave the UK "outgunned and overmatched" in a conflict with Russian forces.

The group of MPs said a series of procurement failures meant the army had been left with an armoured fighting vehicle (AFV) fleet facing "mass obsolescence".

They blamed a history of "bureaucratic procrastination, military indecision, financial mismanagement and general ineptitude" which they said had marked attempts to re-equip the army over the past two decades.

As part of the launch of the Integrated Review on Tuesday, Mr Johnson will confirm the headquarters of the new National Cyber Force will be based in the north of England, with the aim of creating a "cyber corridor" in the region that will encourage the growth of the technology sector outside of London.

"Cyber power is revolutionising the way we live our lives and fight our wars, just as air power did 100 years ago," the prime minister said.

"We need to build up our cyber capability so we can grasp the opportunities it presents while ensuring those who seek to use its powers to attack us and our way of life are thwarted at every turn."

Mr Johnson added: "Our new, full-spectrum approach to cyber will transform our ability to protect our people, promote our interests around the world and make the lives of British people better every day."

Tobias Ellwood is warning against 'dropping our guard' on conventional defence


The commander of strategic command, General Sir Patrick Sanders, said the Integrated Review would strike a balance between maintaining conventional military capacity and developing new approaches.

Writing in The Times, he said: "It will preserve the best aspects of the old while shaping the emergence of a new order, and defence and the armed forces have a critical role to play."

Mr Ellwood said the depleted state of the UK's armoured capabilities risks being overlooked.

"I fear there has been too much of a lure towards the digital domain, towards cyber security and the space command and so forth, but we drop our guard on the conventional side at our peril, and yet that is exactly what I see this integrated review taking us to," he told Sky News.

"Our reliance on the internet and on data means we are ever more vulnerable to cyber attacks, data theft, interference in our elections, disinformation campaigns - that's all a part of the parcel of the constant competition that we now face, but those old conventional threats have not disappeared."

He added: "When you take 10,000 troops away, when you take tanks away and armoured personnel vehicles away, when you take frigates away, when you take our heavy lift capability away, reduce our F35s, reduce our typhoons, that means we are going to be more vulnerable in a conventional sense.

"It's a bit like saying, fine, I've managed to get my computer with all the software on it, I'm completely protected, but I forgot to lock the front door."

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
UK and Vietnam Sign Landmark Migration Deal to Fast-Track Returns of Irregular Arrivals
UK Drug-Pricing Overhaul Essential for Life-Sciences Ambition, Says GSK Chief
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie Temporarily Leave the UK Amid Their Parents’ Royal Fallout
UK Weighs Early End to Oil and Gas Windfall Tax as Reeves Seeks Investment Commitments
UK Retail Inflation Slows as Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since Spring
Next Raises Full-Year Profit Guidance After Strong Third-Quarter Performance
Reform UK’s Lee Anderson Admits to 'Gaming' Benefits System While Advocating Crackdown
United States and South Korea Conclude Major Trade Accord Worth $350 Billion
Hurricane Melissa Strikes Cuba After Devastating Jamaica With Record Winds
Vice President Vance to Headline Turning Point USA Campus Event at Ole Miss
U.S. Targets Maritime Narco-Routes While Border Pressure to Mexico Remains Limited
Bill Gates at 70: “I Have a Real Fear of Artificial Intelligence – and Also Regret”
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Amazon Announces 14 000 Corporate Job Cuts as AI Investment Accelerates
UK Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since March, Food Leads the Decline
London Stock Exchange Group ADR (LNSTY) Earns Zacks Rank #1 Upgrade on Rising Earnings Outlook
Soap legend Tony Adams, long-time star of Crossroads, dies at 84
Rachel Reeves Signals Tax Increases Ahead of November Budget Amid £20-50 Billion Fiscal Gap
NatWest Past Gains of 314% Spotlight Opportunity — But Some Key Risks Remain
UK Launches ‘Golden Age’ of Nuclear with £38 Billion Sizewell C Approval
UK Announces £1.08 Billion Budget for Offshore Wind Auction to Boost 2030 Capacity
UK Seeks Steel Alliance with EU and US to Counter China’s Over-Capacity
UK Struggles to Balance China as Both Strategic Threat and Valued Trading Partner
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
British Journalist Sami Hamdi Detained by U.S. Authorities After Visa Revocation Amid Israel-Gaza Commentary
King Charles Unveils UK’s First LGBT+ Armed Forces Memorial at National Memorial Arboretum
At ninety-two and re-elected: Paul Biya secures eighth term in Cameroon amid unrest
Racist Incidents Against UK Nurses Surge by 55%
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Cites Shared Concerns With Trump Administration as Foundation for Early US-UK Trade Deal
Essentra plc: A Closer Look at a UK ‘Penny Stock’ Opportunity Amid Market Weakness
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
×