Defence secretary admits: British armed forces can’t stop an invasion

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Get our free View from Westminster email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Unless we are ready to fight we are not in shape to deter.” open image in gallery Defence secretary John Healey said Britain would be unable to deter an invasion He told Politico’s Power Play podcast that the state of the armed forces when he became defence secretary in July was “far worse with far deeper problems than we expected”. But former defence secretary Ben Wallace condemned Labour’s approach to the armed forces, saying “we don’t need more distractions from ‘new reviews’”. He told The Independent: “For our forces to be match fit and ready, we need to continue a steady and annual growth in the budget to ensure the reviews of the last few years are actually delivered.” open image in gallery Ben Wallace said he was concerned Labour’s defence review would act as cover for the further hollowing out of the armed forces Mr Wallace said Labour’s wars in Iraq and Afghanistan depleted the military and “nobody really started to fund them properly until my tenure”. And he warned: “The new government is using its review to avoid funding and will return us to the dark old days of hollowing out that happened under both Labour and the Conservatives.” After Mr Healey’s comments, The Times reported that senior military chiefs inside the Ministry of Defence share his view that if the armed forces were forced into combat any time soon they could lose in a fight.