‘Talking loudly with a small stick!’ Former defence chief warns UK ‘not in position’ to resist Russian threat

Marcus Donaldson
Thu, 09 Apr 2026 14:37:36 +0000

Former Chief of the General Staff, Richard Dannatt, has said the UK was “not in a position” to resist threats posed by Russia over “critical vulnerabilities” in Britain’s defence.

Speaking to GB News, the former Army boss was reacting to news that Moscow had been undertaking a month-long submarine operation in British waters.

Defence Secretary John Healy revealed that the UK and allies had been monitoring the presence of a Russian Akula attack submarine and two Gugi spy submarines in the North Atlantic.

Mr Healy said the snooping boats had loitered around “critical infrastructure relevant to us and our allies” and were being monitored 24/7 by a British warship and aircraft.

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Addressing the Kremlin, the Defence Secretary said: “We see your activity over our cables and our pipelines, and you should know that any attempt to damage them will not be tolerated and will have serious consequences”.

Lord Dannatt said that Vladimir Putin would “take the threat of action seriously”, given the “vital” nature of undersea infrastructure to an island nation like the UK.

However, the former Army chief questioned what Britain would be capable of doing if it attempted to follow up on that threat.

“Roosevelt years ago said, as far as diplomacy is concerned, ‘speak softly and carry a big stick’.”

“Well, we're talking loudly, and we've got a small stick,” Lord Dannatt despaired.

He warned that Britain was “not in that position at the present moment” to issue “credible” threats after the capabilities of the armed forces were “exposed in a very embarrassing way in several episodes during the course of this year”.

“We might be able to mount these discrete operations here or there or somewhere. But can we do several of these at the same time? Can we sustain them over time?”

To that end, the former Army chief said it was imperative that the UK increase its defence funding to “make sure that our stick is bigger”.

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“That’s where many of us are worried that we have cut so much in recent years that there needs to be a turnaround in the defence budget.

“Defence needs to go higher up the government's priority list, and we need to reverse the hollowing out of our armed forces, our Navy, our Army, and our Air Force.

“That's a matter of urgency now,” he told The People’s Channel.

Following the announcement of the Russian submarine operation, Keir Starmer issued a statement insisting that the UK would not “shy away” from challenging Moscow.

“I am determined to protect the British people from paying the price for Putin’s aggression in their household bills.

“That is why we will not shy away from taking action and exposing Russia’s destabilising activity that seeks to test our resolve.

“Our Armed Forces are among the best in the world, and the British public should be in no doubt that this Government will do whatever it takes to defend our national and economic security, wherever in the world that is needed,” the Prime Minister said.