Plans to upgrade Britain's armed forces are being discussed by the Treasury and the Ministry of Defense (MoD), and with core public services struggling to cope due to shortfalls in funding, opting to spend billions of pounds on upgrading the UK's military could prove controversial.
Britain's former military chief General Lord Nick Houghton has warned that the UK government is “living a lie” over the true cost and affordability of its defense program, The Independent reported on Tuesday.
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When asked by BBC's Radio 4 program if he thinks the UK should increase its defense spending from the NATO target of two percent of GDP to three percent, he stressed that factors unrelated to the military need to be considered.
“It's not just what the armed forces needs, it's what the country needs. The government now finds itself in a very difficult situation. It does have a defense program which is currently wholly unaffordable within the available funding,” General Lord Nick Houghton said.
“Do we increase the defense budget to make this ambition affordable, or do we actually diminish ourselves in terms of our status as a military power?”
Regarding Prime Minister Theresa May's pledge to increase funding to the NHS, after years of dwindling performance and being overstretched, the former head of Britain's armed forces…
