Britain must get ‘war ready’ and can no longer rely on the US, MPs say

Britain must prepare for war and face up to the fact it can no longer rely on the US, MPs and a former senior adviser to Nato have warned.

Days after President Trump provoked outrage with his false claim that British troops avoided the frontline in Afghanistan, ministers have been urged to prepare for conflict without American support.

Before his later climbdown, Donald Trump also claimed he was unsure European countries would come to America’s aid in a time of need.

That is despite the fact that the United States remains the only country to have invoked the collective security provisions of Nato’s Article 5, which considers an attack on one member state to be an attack on all, after the 9/11 terror attacks.

Now, a new report warns that the world can no longer rely on the US abiding by Article 5 to come to the aid of other countries, in the event of a Russian invasion.

“We must prepare for the worst; that is, we must prepare for the fact that the US may no longer be a reliable ally and may well become a separate actor, pursuing a narrow understanding of its national interests,” the report says.

The document, by the former senior Nato adviser Chris Donnelly and MPs Bernard Jenkin and Derek Twigg, warned Western democracies were unprepared for war, in part because of 70 years of peace and prosperity.

In a foreword, George Robertson, the former Nato secretary-general and the chair of the Labour government’s recent defence review, said: “The UK is under-prepared and under attack.”

The report, by the think tank Civitas, also warns that UK universities should restrict lucrative fees from students from countries who “do not wish us well”.

Those not in education, employment or training (Neets) must expect to find themselves drafted into war work if it is a long war, they say, while schools should step up to provide more welders and electricians for the war effort.

Although the Labour government has committed to radically increasing defence spending in the coming years, the Ministry of Defence is also reportedly facing a £28bn hole in its plans over the next four years.

Earlier, the defence secretary John Healey had rejected reports that the Strategic Defence (SDR) review was not fully costed when he appeared before a powerful committee of MPs.

It follows reports earlier this month that the country’s top military chief, Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton, warned Sir Keir Starmer of the shortfall in the MOD budget.

Mr Healey told MPs: “The SDR, when it was completed and published, was fully affordable within the financial commitments that we made.

“That was confirmed, including by the prime minister when he published it.”