Labour slammed by ex-military chief for 'prioritising welfare benefits over security'

A former head of the UK Armed Forces has claimed Britain is too focused on welfare spending rather than funding defence. Lord Houghton of Richmond, who served as chief of defence staff between 2013 and 2016, said the Government needs to do more amid the threat posed by Russia, adding current decision-making still resembles "peacetime planning".

Speaking in a debate in the House of Lords on the Ukraine war, the cross-bench peer warned Russian President Vladimir Putin will "see Britain as Americans proxy". Lord Houghton said: "He [Mr Putin] will have a fully mobilised set of armed forces, an untouched suite of strategic capabilities, a fully mobilised war economy and the window of opportunity to act whilst NATO, certainly the UK, at the moment, still prioritises welfare benefits over national security." The retired senior officer also painted a worrying picture of defence's finances, describing it as "dire".

He expressed concerns that "uncomfortable announcements" on funding will be made in the future.

Reports suggest the Ministry of Defence (MoD) is facing a black hole of more than £2 billion in its budget.

Lord Houghton said that without proper funding, none of three key defence objectives - spending on Ukraine, resilience to hybrid threats and integration of forces - would succeed.

He said these require "huge investment", adding: "Without such investment, we potentially fail both Ukraine and NATO, we expose society to hybrid threats and we completely undermine the only real hope of credibility that the defence review offers our armed forces."

He continued: "Hard investment choices have forever been the challenge of peacetime planners. But we should not be engaged in peacetime planning.

"We face an outcome to the current conflict that leaves behind a humiliated Ukraine, a residually dangerous Russia and an impoverished Britain, devoid of threat awareness, with an unfunded [strategic defence review].

"I have worried for the last 15 years that when it comes to national security the government of the day has consistently put their perceived duty to reassure society above their duty to respond to geopolitical realities.

"We need to do more."

During the debate on Friday, former Royal Navy chief Lord West of Spithead also voiced concerns over Moscow.

He said if Mr Putin is successful in defeating Ukraine then he would be emboldened and "invade his next victim".

The Labour peer called for increased NATO defence spending to deter Russian aggression and warned of potential for a Third World War.

"Our primary object must be to keep Ukraine in the war until the damage to Putin, financially and militarily, makes him recognise he must reach a peace accord."

He added: "We must succeed in thwarting Putin's illegal and appalling attack on Ukraine, or events could gain a momentum of their own, leading, I believe, to a major world war."

Foreign minister Baroness Chapman of Darlington pointed out the UK has made a "historic commitment" to spend 5% of GDP on national security, following a new target set by NATO earlier this year.

She added: "This is a generational increase underlining the UK's commitment to national security and our leadership in NATO."