Defence Secretary John Healey's speech at Mansion House
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Please see below the expected wording of the Defence Secretary's
speech at this evening's Lord Mayor's Annual Defence & Security
Lecture, taking place at Mansion House. "My Lord Mayor, Lady
Mayoress, Ladies and Gentlemen… it's a privilege to deliver this
year's Defence and Security Lecture… … and to be the first Defence
Secretary to do so. I'd like to begin by thanking the Lord Mayor as
he enters the final weeks of his tenure for all that he has done to
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Please see below the expected wording of the Defence Secretary's speech at this evening's Lord Mayor's Annual Defence & Security Lecture, taking place at Mansion House. "My Lord Mayor, Lady Mayoress, Ladies and Gentlemen… it's a privilege to deliver this year's Defence and Security Lecture… … and to be the first Defence Secretary to do so. I'd like to begin by thanking the Lord Mayor as he enters the final weeks of his tenure for all that he has done to reinforce the bond between our institutions… Not only has he doubled the number of Livery companies who have signed the Armed Forces Covenant … … but he's personally opened new investment opportunities for UK Defence, for which I am sincerely grateful. Let me also thank the City of London Reserve Forces' and Cadets' Association, Liveries and businesses for the many ways you help this incredible Armed Forces community. And to our Reservists with us this evening… as citizen-sailors, soldiers and aviators you provide the numbers to sustain our Armed Forces, the expertise to enhance them and a bridge which binds them to society. And on behalf of our nation, we are grateful to you. I would like – if I may – to single out one Lance Bombardier in the Royal Artillery for particular praise… the Lady Mayoress. … a great example of the many people and companies in the Square Mile who go the extra mile. We need more businesses like those in the City, prepared to meet their responsibilities for national security. So, I urge company leaders to look at what more you can do to support your people to join, and contribute to, our Reserves. Ultimately, it is people who win wars, people who demonstrate deterrence, people who preserve peace. We are fortunate to have the very finest Armed Forces. In the years ahead, we will be asking more of our service personnel… … they have a right to expect their Government does more for them. So, we will continue to renew the nation's contract with those who serve – and show our personnel, our forces families, our veterans that we are on your side. A NEW ERA OF THREAT Back on my first day in the job, our then Chief of the Defence Staff, Tony Radakin told me I'd been appointed Defence Secretary at what he described as: … “the most extraordinary time for defence and security” in his 35 years' service. And that was before: ... the Iran-Israel war dragged the Middle East perilously close to the brink... … Chinese warships conducted an unprecedented circumnavigation of Australia… … armed conflict broke out between India and Pakistan, with both firing at each other's nuclear sites… … Putin calling on North Korean troops for assistance against Ukraine… … European nations have been forcefully – and rightly – challenged by President Trump to shoulder more of Europe's security. And Putin's full-scale invasion is now in day 1,335. This is a war he thought he'd win in a week. Instead: …. he's lost over a million troops… … 40 per cent of his total government spending goes on the military… … and he's been forced to call on North Korea, Iran and China for help. Nonetheless, Russian aggression has escalated and even extended further West. Each month, more attack drones are being launched into Ukraine. Last month, we saw 19 cross the Polish border… … days later, Russian jets violated Estonia's airspace… … while at the same time, Russia mounted a concerted campaign to subvert Moldova's election. And here at home, we continue to defend ourselves daily against threats ranging from the seabed to cyberspace. We will always do what's needed to keep the British people safe… … and as we speak, we are developing new legal powers to bring down unidentified drones over UK military sites. This is – undeniably – a new era of threat. The world is more unstable, more uncertain, more dangerous. Not since the end of the Second World War has Europe's security been at such risk of state-on-state conflict.
A NEW ERA FOR DEFENCE This new era of threat demands a new era for defence. This is now an age for hard power, strong alliances and sure diplomacy. I'm proud to be part of a government – led by a Prime Minister – that knows that our first duty is to defend the nation and keep our citizens safe… … that recognises – as Keir Starmer has said – the role of defence and security: “Not as one priority amongst many others. But as the central organising principle of government… the first thought in the morning… the last at night. The pillar on which everything else stands or falls.” I'm proud that in our first year in office, we stepped up to meet this new era… With the largest increase in defence spending since the Cold War… A new NATO benchmark of five percent of GDP on national security by 2035… The largest pay rise for our forces in over 20 years to turn around the fall in Armed Forces numbers… And a first-of-its-kind Strategic Defence Review… which sets out our vision to make Britain safer: secure at home, strong abroad. It signifies a landmark shift in our deterrence and defence… … moving to warfighting readiness to deter threats and strengthen security in the Euro-Atlantic... ... and drawing lessons from Ukraine to put the UK at the leading edge of defence innovation and to build Britain's industrial base. As I look ahead to the rest of this decade… Our task, in this new age of hard power is: … to secure peace in our continent… … and to forge stronger deterrence and resilience… … a New Deal for European security. And tonight, I will set out the hallmarks for this New Deal... … how we truly fight together as Allies… … how we advance our advantage through innovation… … and how we invest for the future. But let me begin with the most urgent task at hand…
UKRAINE Despite his rhetoric, Putin shows no sign of relenting in his attempt to wipe a sovereign nation off the map. Yet the Ukrainians continue to resist, with huge courage… Military and civilian alike. I am proud – and I know the nation is too – of Britain's commitment to supporting Ukraine in that fight for as long as it takes. The UK is united for Ukraine. I was in Opposition on day one of Putin's full-scale invasion. There was never a doubt in my mind – or Keir's – that Britain should step up to support Ukraine in that moment… Labour backed the Conservative Government in doing so. And I pay tribute to the Conservatives in backing us now. In Government, we are stepping up still further. This year, we will provide the highest ever level of military support to Ukraine: £4.5 billion. We've taken over the leadership of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group, alongside Germany. In the eight months since, we've successfully raised pledges of over £50 billion for military aid. And the British public have shown, too, that our nation remains united for Ukraine. Taking in 167,000 people through the Homes for Ukraine scheme… And a sight I will never forget: Ukrainian service personnel joining our VE Day 80 parade… Marching with huge pride down the Mall… to deafening cheers from the crowds lining the way. This is why President Zelenskyy calls the UK his “closest ally”. This is why Putin ranks Britain as his number one enemy… And as his aggression grows – both in Ukraine and beyond – Britain and our NATO allies stand more unified, and stronger. And we are acting: Within days of Russia's drone incursions into Poland, British Typhoon jets began flying NATO air defence missions over Poland. Within weeks, we will start joint production in the UK of Ukrainian ‘Octopus' interceptor drones. Within months, we will establish the UK's Drone Centre. And within this Parliament, we will double investment in autonomous systems to more than £4 billion. For Ukraine, our mission is simple: To support the fight today. To secure peace for tomorrow. And to stand ready to step up still further. Over the past six months, we have led the creation of a Coalition of the Willing – alongside France, involving… 200 military planners… From more than 30 nations… Developing detailed plans, in the event of a ceasefire, for a ‘Multinational Force Ukraine'… To secure the skies and seas, and to train Ukrainian forces to defend their nation. So, as President Trump leads the push for peace… Here in Europe, we are ready to lead the work to secure it in the long-term. For our Armed Forces, I am already reviewing readiness levels and accelerating millions of pounds of funding to prepare for any possible deployment into Ukraine. A sovereign Ukraine is not just essential for Ukrainians, but it's important for the security of us all. And the experience and ingenuity of Ukrainians is already starting to contribute to wider NATO security: From Ukrainian experts placed alongside NATO exercises to pass on their combat expertise… …to Ukrainian counter-drone support – alongside the UK – at the recent European Political Community meeting in Denmark. This is why I told my counterparts at NATO HQ in Brussels last week: A secure Europe needs a strong Ukraine. A battle-smart, battle-tested Ukraine… … will be in the vanguard of future European defence and deterrence.
ALLIANCES When I became Defence Secretary last year: … there was no Coalition of the Willing… there is now… … no E5… there is now… … no UK-EU Security and Defence Partnership… there is now. There was no UK leadership of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group… … no landmark Trinity House Defence Agreement with Germany… … no reboot of the Lancaster House Treaty with France… there is now. I have always believed that Britain's strategic strength comes from our Allies and that Britain must be democracy's most reliable ally. It was this principle that laid the foundation for the European security order forged by Ernest Bevin… the great post-War Foreign Secretary. A principle which found its fullest expression in NATO. It was an undertaking of extraordinary scale and vision… hard fought and hard won. Bevin spent years assembling the shield from behind which a safer, more prosperous world would be built. Today, we inherit not only the security of its strength but the responsibility to strengthen it still further. NATO is the simple but profound promise that we will never fight alone. Over the coming years, we will develop a greater readiness to fight together, to deter together. Our historic Norway deal serves as a blueprint for this. Not only is this £10 billion export contract the biggest ever British warship deal… it marks the birth of a joint fleet of submarine hunters to protect NATO's northern flank… … and underpins a deep new defence agreement – to be formally signed in the coming weeks. We will set new standards for how Allies can work together. Because the threats we face demand that we don't just coordinate our Forces, they require us to be ready to combine. And over the next 5 years, we will make this a hallmark of our New Deal for European security… … joint operations and interoperable standards… … deploying combined forces together, to deter together… … to strengthen our Alliances, strengthen NATO, and strengthen our deterrence to face this new era. INNOVATION Keeping NATO strong means keeping us ahead of our adversaries in the unending race for technological superiority. Bevin once declared: “We've got to have this thing over here, whatever it costs… … we've got to have the bloody Union Jack on top of it.”
“This thing” to which Bevin referred was the Atomic Bomb. The decision taken – nearly 80 years ago – to pursue the most advanced weapon of its age meant Britain has maintained unbroken protection for ourselves and our Allies. Our task is no less demanding. Our SDR sets out how we will draw lessons from the war in Ukraine… … a war which has demonstrated that a nation's Armed Forces are only as strong as the industry, innovators and investors that stand behind them. Every square inch of the modern battlefield is monitored… every second of the fight. Drones now account for 80 per cent of casualties in the war in Ukraine. And this shift in battlefield technology is only hastening. Rapid advances in AI and machine learning, quantum computing and autonomy will change the nature of war faster than at any point in human history. While the mass proliferation of Chinese technology to other countries carries a heavy threat that their technology will be used against us. The next war may well not start in the air, land or sea but across cyberspace – or indeed space itself. We must not be sentimental about the kit of the past but invest in the technology of the future. We need the power of drones, AI, and autonomy complementing the ‘heavy metal' of tanks and artillery. Plans simply to ‘modernise' our Armed Forces will fall short. The SDR stressed the imperative to transform our defence. That process has already begun... and at pace. We're driving the deepest defence reforms in 50 years... We launched UK Defence Innovation, backed by a ringfenced annual budget of at least £400 million... ... and we committed to spending 10 per cent of our equipment budget on novel technologies, starting this year. The ‘brains race' of innovation is more important now than at any time since the white heat of post-War technology equipped the UK with our nuclear deterrent. I want to put the UK at the leading edge of defence innovation, making defence an engine for growth, making Britain safer and making Britain's Armed Forces the most innovating military in NATO.
INVESTMENT The security order built in the aftermath of the Second World War produced the longest period of great power peace since the Roman Empire. Yet the ‘long peace' we enjoyed gave rise to a collective complacency. When the Ukraine conflict began in 2014, only three NATO nations were spending two per cent on defence. At the time of Putin's full-scale invasion, that figure had risen… but to only seven. The UK has always met our NATO spending commitments… and with this Labour government, we always will. But let's be plain about the facts... ... during the first five years of austerity from 2010, the defence budget was slashed by nearly 20 per cent… ... a legacy our government confronted immediately by boosting defence investment by £5 billion in our first year… … meeting our manifesto pledge to spend 2.5 per cent of GDP on defence three years earlier than promised. So, it is right that America has called on Europe to meet the security demands of a more dangerous world. And it is right that Europe responded. Through the E5, the Joint Expeditionary Force, the Ukraine Defence Contact Group and the Coalition of the Willing… Europe is stepping up. This year, we expect that all NATO allies will meet two per cent spending on defence. Europe will step up further still. At the Hague Summit, 32 Allies made a promise to one another to spend five per cent of GDP on defence and security by 2035. But if anyone thinks defence is costly, take a look at war… all told, the UK Government has committed up to £21.8 billion in support for Ukraine… … a significant sum but the biggest impact for Britain has been the estimated additional £90 billion gas bill as a result of Russian aggression. So, we must be clear about the cost of inaction… ... but we must equally be confident about the rewards of action… which – already – we are beginning to see realised... ... 1,000 major defence contracts signed, of which 86 per cent are with British-based businesses... ... £1.7 billion in foreign direct investment committed into our defence sector. And last month, to build on the progress made, we published our Defence Industrial Strategy ... ... a plan – supported by £800 million of investment – to strengthen our security and grow our economy... ... a plan to make defence an engine for economic growth in every nation and region of the UK. … a plan for a ‘defence dividend' measured in good jobs and new skills. One year into government and a great deal more to do. I want Britain to be the best place to invest and grow a defence business.
CONCLUSION So, in the coming years, this is how this New Deal for European security will take shape: … a secure and sovereign Ukraine… … a stronger, more integrated NATO… … European nations innovating at war time pace to meet our security needs. Britain will lead from the front. But let me speak plainly: While our values are unchanging, our policies and ambitions must. Business as before will not cut it. The years ahead will be defined not just by periodic coordination of allied militaries… but by the readiness to deter in combination. Not just keeping Ukraine in the fight today… but securing the peace for tomorrow. Not just the modernisation… but the transformation of our Armed Forces. Not just fighting across one domain… but integrating to fight in all. Not just reacting to the conflicts of the day… but deterring them from happening tomorrow. Our duty in government can be simply put: … to meet the challenges in this new era of threat to forge a new era for European security." |