The UK’s armed forces would not be able to protect the country from a full-scale attack by Russia or another major military power, the recently retired commander of joint forces command has said. Gen Sir Richard Barrons, who stepped down in April, delivered a scathing assessment of the UK military in a 10-page private memorandum to the defence secretary, Sir Michael Fallon. In his memo, Barrons said: “Capability that is foundational to all major armed forces has been withered by design. “The cornerstone of European defence is Nato, of which the United States is the most senior partner contributing 75% of the budget of the alliance. The creation of a European army will only encourage isolationists in the United States to argue that Europe should be responsible for its own defence.”

Source: The Guardian September 17, 2016 09:06 UTC