London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Sep 18, 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
US Tech Giants Pledge Billions to UK AI Infrastructure Following Starmer's Call
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
DeepMind and OpenAI Achieve Gold at ‘Coding Olympics’ in AI Milestone
SEC Allows Public Companies to Block Investors from Class-Action Lawsuits
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Federal Reserve Cuts Rates by Quarter Point and Signals More to Come
Effective and Impressive Generation Z Protest: Images from the Riots in Nepal
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Trump: Cancel quarterly company reports and settle for reporting once every six months
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
US Launches New Pilot Program to Accelerate eVTOL Air Taxi Deployment
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Hong Kong Industry Group Calls for HK$20 Billion Support Fund to Ease Property Market Stress
Joe Biden’s Post-Presidency Speaking Fees Face Weak Demand amid Corporate Reluctance
Charlie Kirk's murder will break the left's hateful cancel tactics
Kash Patel erupts at ‘buffoon’ Sen. Adam Schiff over Russiagate: ‘You are the biggest fraud’
Homeland Security says Emmy speech ‘fanning the flames of hatred’ after Einbinder’s ‘F— ICE’ remark
Charlie Kirk’s Alleged Assassin Tyler Robinson Faces Death Penalty as Charges Formally Announced
Actor, director, environmentalist Robert Redford dies at 89
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
JD Vance Says There Is “No Unity” with Those Who Celebrate Charlie Kirk’s Killing, and he is right!
Trump sues the 'New York Times' for an astronomical sum of 15 billion dollars
Florida Hospital Welcomes Its Largest-Ever Baby: Annan, Nearly Fourteen Pounds at Birth
U.S. and Britain Poised to Finalize Over $10 Billion in High-Tech, Nuclear and Defense Deals During Trump State Visit
China Finds Nvidia Violated Antitrust Laws in Mellanox Deal, Deepens Trade Tensions with US
US Air Force Begins Modifications on Qatar-Donated Jet Amid Plans to Use It as Air Force One
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
Elon Musk Retakes Lead as World’s Richest After Brief Ellison Surge
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
French Debt Downgrade Piles Pressure on Macron’s New Prime Minister
US and UK Near Tech, Nuclear and Whisky Deals Ahead of Trump Trip
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
Anesthesiologist Left Operation Mid-Surgery to Have Sex with Nurse
Tens of Thousands of Young Chinese Get Up Every Morning and Go to Work Where They Do Nothing
×