The Ajax scandal is worse than embarrassing
Luke Pollard, recently promoted to Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry, must have looked forward to visiting General Dynamics UK…
Russia’s spy ship is a warning to Britain – but are we ready?
As a Russian spy ship lurks on the edge of British waters, Defence Secretary John Healey had a message for…
The ECHR is destroying British army morale
Nine retired senior military officers have written an open letter to warn that the expansion of human rights legislation is…
Is the British Army right to invest in new battle tanks?
It is a distinct career advantage in Sir Keir Starmer’s government for ambitious ministers to be able to shut unpalatable…
Trump’s nuclear weapons testing is a dangerous idea
It is often difficult to discern the exact meaning of President Trump’s public statements. He does not consider words carefully,…
Don’t take away Andrew’s Falklands medal
The official response to growing public concern about Prince Andrew has been slow and hesitant. The King’s brother announced last month…
Why Christians should celebrate Halloween
Hallowe’en is nearly over for another year. Thank goodness, you might say. Each October, many Brits scratch their heads about…
Why is the army’s top brass waging war on private members’ clubs?
The British Army – at its smallest size since we lost our American colonies in the 1770s – is facing…
Is Keir Starmer right to sell Typhoon jets to Turkey?
Sir Keir Starmer is proving to be an unlucky prime minister. This week began with a demonstration of his haplessness.…
Keir Starmer can’t blame the cabinet secretary for his own failures
There have been 14 cabinet secretaries since the post was established in 1916. The first, Lieutenant Colonel Sir Maurice Hankey,…
Nato is far too complacent about Russian drones
Something is afoot in Nato’s airspace – but the alliance’s complacent response to the various incursions is rather troubling. In…
A judge has finally seen sense over the SAS’s ambush of three IRA men
It didn’t take long for a judge to deliver his withering verdict on a judicial review application into the use…
Will Europe put its money where its mouth is for Ukraine?
Shortly after Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the West prohibited transactions with the Bank of Russia…
Will Britain ever join the EU’s defence loan scheme?
Nick Thomas-Symonds holds the venerable position of His Majesty’s Paymaster General, which, ironically as we shall see, was once in…
Healey’s Palantir deal is a major boost for Britain’s army
President Donald Trump’s unprecedented (depending on your benchmark) state visit to the United Kingdom is underway and the deals are…
If Tony Radakin couldn’t reform the MoD, who can?
Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, having handed over his responsibilities last week after four years as chief of the Defence Staff…
Norway’s warship order is a boost for Britain’s defence industry
There was some good news for the government as politicians return to Westminster and Whitehall after the summer break: the…
Why a peacekeeping buffer zone in Ukraine won’t work
The 24 hours within which Donald Trump promised to end the war in Ukraine have turned into more than six…
Trump’s military purge is a disaster waiting to happen
The Duke of Wellington, assessing newly arrived British soldiers during the Peninsular War, is supposed to have said, ‘I don’t…
Are British troops prepared to defend Ukraine?
The events of the last few days – the Trump/Putin summit in Anchorage, the visit of European leaders to the…
Starmer’s coalition of the willing has been saved from itself
It is commonplace to accuse politicians of being out of touch. There is often some truth in the charge, and…
Why is Spain trying to pick a fight with Trump on defence?
When I joined the House of Commons Clerk’s Department 20 years ago, there was a helpful list of formerly common…
How will the army’s new Gurkhas fight without any guns?
The British Army’s newest formation, the King’s Gurkha Artillery (KGA), has unveiled the cap badge it will wear. This is…
Is David Williams the MoD’s fall guy?
Yesterday the Ministry of Defence (MoD) confirmed that its permanent secretary, David Williams, will be stepping down in a matter…
The problem of striking a defence deal with the EU
The UK-EU summit in London in May, at which a new relationship between the parties was agreed, seems a long…
