Majority of Britons believe World War III likely to erupt in next decade, poll finds

The figure represents a striking 12-point increase compared with the previous year's findings.

The poll also revealed that public dissatisfaction with the Government’s handling of defence has intensified.

Some 56 per cent of those questioned said ministers are mishandling Britain’s military, marking an 11-point increase.

The poll surveyed 2,079 British adults last week.

General Sir Richard Barrons, the former head of Joint Forces Command, said such concerns were understandable given the "small and broken" state of Britain's armed forces.

He said: "We live in a new world of state confrontation and conflict which is unlike the world we knew a few years ago.

"The world used to be regulated by supranational institutions like the UN and a thing called international law, but now we're seeing big powers shoot up people if they feel like it."

Sir Richard added: "People are nervous about war on their doorstep because they have seen what is happening in Ukraine and in the Gulf.

"The public also recognises that the US has decided not to underpin our security as it has since 1949.

"We must either make some really hard decisions to fix our defence and national resilience, or really bad things could happen.

The survey also revealed a growing crisis of confidence in Britain’s armed forces.

More than half of respondents - 54 per cent - said they had little or no faith in the military’s ability to defend the country in a wartime scenario.

Political allegiance appeared to influence those views, with just 22 per cent of Reform UK supporters expressing confidence in the armed forces, compared with 34 per cent of Conservative voters and 44 per cent of Labour supporters.

Meanwhile, Colonel Philip Ingram MBE, a former intelligence officer with four decades of experience analysing global conflicts, said he could now see "a clear path to global conflict" for the first time.

He said: "Everything that is happening now is bringing us even closer to the possibility.

"It is a very real and very genuine concern that I have had for a while now.

"Our politicians are failing to recognise the threat building on the horizon from China, Russia, Iran and North Korea all working together, swapping technologies and enabling each other," the former intelligence officer added.

YouGov head of data journalism Matthew Smith said the findings come amid widely reported cuts to defence spending alongside ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and Iran.

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