A decorated war hero who hails from Labour's own ranks has criticised Keir Starmer's response to the Iran war in an exclusive interview.
The fresh humiliation comes days after Donald Trump took a series of swings at the Prime Minister and other allies over their refusal to join the offensive against Tehran, threatening to pull the US out of Nato.
Now, in an exclusive interview with Facts4EU and GB News, Admiral Lord West has accused Keir Starmer's Government of a lack of military readiness, branding it a "bloody awful" mistake.
The former First Sea Lord and Labour Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Security and Counter-Terrorism, said: “So we knew there was going to be a fight at the beginning of January…. What ships are we sending out to the Middle East? Quick as a flash, I was told, well, the one remaining minehunter is being brought back.
"There are no other ships because (frigate) HMS Lancaster had been paid off [retired].
“We don't have a single Royal Naval ship between Gibraltar and Singapore. Well, that is pretty bloody awful actually. I mean, when there's going to be a war, that shows a total lack of understanding."All very well, sending a few fast jets.
"There are lots of things they can't do. They're very good for certain things, but there are lots of things they can't do and forgetting and not understanding maritime is unforgivable for people who are in charge of our nation.”
Keir Starmer mired in fresh crisis as war hero inside Labour blasts 'bloody awful' mistake on Iran
|Getty Images/Reuters
This has been a consistent criticism leveled at the Government since the outset of the war, with ministers facing accusations that the Royal Navy had been too slow to defend Cyprus after a drone attack on a British base there.
The delay in deploying HMS Dragon to the island exposes the UK's diminishing defence capability, critics argue.
Sources within the Ministry of Defence rejected this accusation, insisting that the efforts of those involved in making the Portsmouth-based Type 45 destroyer seaworthy in such a short timeframe had been extraordinary.
The defence secretary, John Healey, told the House of Commons last month that navy crews had been working “tirelessly, 22 hours a day".
Former Conservative MP John Redwood is not buying it, telling Facts4EU and the People's Channel that the decision-making has been "dreadful" from the start.
He said: “The failure of the Government to make a single ship available to protect Cyprus in time for the hostilities, coupled with the decommissioning of our last frigate in the Middle East and the withdrawal of our last minesweeper there was a dreadful set of misjudgements.
"The Government should have seen the build-up of tension and been close enough to the USA to know war was likely. Instead, we ran down the protections for our bases and people there at exactly the wrong time.”
What explains this?
Britain's diminished defence capabilities can be attributed to both recent and long-term decisions.
As Facts4EU's previous analysis of Nato's report shows, the government's increase in defence expenditure in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and now the Iran war has lagged behind other Nato members.
As a result, Britain is now 26th out of 30, 12 places below Montenegro, in the rankings for increases in expenditure in response to the rapidly developing threats to its security.
Although this shortfall in defence spending predates the current administration, Lord West tells GB News that Labour's lack of urgency has compounded the problem.
"[Sir Keir] laid down initially the fact that we were going to go up to 2.5 per cent and then up to three per cent in the next government. Then, of course, at Munich [Security Conference], which was just too late. We need to be spending the money now. And then at Munich, he gave a very good statement saying he was going to bring forward the spend up to 3.5 per cent into this government, this administration, which is great news.
“Came home. Quick as a flash, told the Chancellor to do that, and as far as I could work out, the Chancellor said: ‘Get stuffed.’”
Lord Redwood chimes with his assessment, telling the People's Channel that Britain has run down its defences "too far seeking the peace dividend", adding: [Britain] now needs to handle two live wars and many threats to our security. NATO is meant to be hitting a target of 3.5 per cent of GDP for spending, whilst the UK stays marooned at 2.5 per cent.
"This means we lack the ships, the tanks, the planes, the drones, the missiles that we need to defend ourselves in a hostile world.”
It's important to note that this hollowing out has been happening for decades.
As the graph below shows, the number of destroyers in Britain's fleet precipitously declined during Tony Blair's premiership.
The number of destroyers in Britain's fleet precipitously declined during Tony Blair's premiership
|Facts4EU
Lord West notes that under Blair, the number of Type 45 destroyers went from 12 to six "when we should have built 12".
Another bottleneck, he says, is the stubborn lack of investment in dockyards, maintenance workers and spare parts to get these ships in a state that they can be readily deployed.
The war veteran's ultimate takeaway is that the "parlous state" of Britain's defence capabilities stems from successive prime ministers placing too much stock in soft power over projecting military might alongside America.
This has not always been the case, as Lord West noted: “So, for example, in the Gulf War… the only navies that were fighting in the Northern Gulf were the Americans and our Navy. The French Navy were there, but they were down south and didn't want to get involved in the fight.
“We were the second most powerful navy in Nato. And the most powerful European navy in Nato. That is no longer the case. That is pretty desperate for our maritime nation and an island.”
GB News has approached the Ministry of Defence for comment.