Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the remarks by the new Chief of the British Army that "there is now a burning imperative to forge an Army capable of fighting alongside our allies and defeating Russia in battle" represents Government policy.

The 2021 Integrated Review and Defence Command Paper set out a year ago that Russia poses “the greatest nuclear, conventional military and sub-threshold threat to European security”.

Warfighting capability remains the cornerstone of deterrence and the bedrock of a world-class British Army. The ability and willingness to commit hard capability to fighting wars is a fundamental foundation of our influence and deterrence.

Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, therefore confirms why the UK must be ready to defend and deter threats emanating from our adversaries in a deteriorating global security environment.

We continue to review our capabilities and readiness levels as we deliver the transformation of the Army under Future Soldier.