“National disgrace”, “parlous state”, “no urgency”, “laziness”, “pretty bloody awful actually”

EXCLUSIVE: Member of former Labour Govt & war hero slams current Administration

Montage © Facts4EU.Org 2026

A unique attack on Sir Keir Starmer's Government from the Left and the Right

Today’s second major Defence Special by Facts4EU in association with GB News in one week is a terrifying indictment of Government defence, energy, and financial policies on many levels. It includes an overall summary of the dire state of the UK’s readiness to defend itself, its people, and its interests.

Uniquely, this article presents the same case for upholding our own defence from the Left and the Right.

We summarise the financial and other implications for the general public and businesses of what is now happening as a result of the war with Iran. In addition we are publishing excerpts from the damning testimony of a renowned expert who happens to have been a member of a previous Labour administration, and a decorated war hero to boot.

Just as President Trump is said to be seeking a way out of the Iran war, so Sir Keir must have been hoping to use the same conflict to deflect attention away from the crises now hitting him from all sides – including not so “friendly fire”.

Sir Keir might have hoped a Labour politician of such stature would defend him. If so, he is about to be severely disappointed.

On Tuesday we published our widely-read summary of our analysis of NATO’s latest Annual Report, showing just how badly the UK now fares in defence terms compared to our neighbours. Today we once again partner with GB News and take things much further.

Exclusive interview: Admiral The Right Honourable The Lord West of Spithead GCB DSC PC

Former Labour Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Security and Counter-Terrorism

Decorated war hero

A member of the team is honoured to have spent some time in conversation with Admiral The Rt Hon The Lord West, former First Sea Lord and member of a previous Labour administration, who gave us his no-holds barred views about the state of defence in the country.

He expressed his deep concerns which we know are shared by many readers.

Questions for all Facts4EU and GB News readers:

1. Are you worried the IMF said yesterday the UK’s economy is “especially exposed” out of European economies to higher oil and gas prices, giving the analogy of a “large sudden tax” on a family’s income? And to them saying our gas supplies are now vulnerable as we import so much (due to this government’s Net Zero policies) – and a lot of this passes through the Strait of Hormuz, currently closed?

2. Were you alarmed that the Government didn’t have a single warship in the Mediterranean and that it couldn’t send a single destroyer to defend our sovereign territory in Cyprus until more than three weeks after it was attacked?

3. Given the rapidly increasing threats to the UK homeland from missiles and terrorism, to attacks on our sovereign bases overseas and on our partners in the Middle East, would you rather the massive increase in the benefits budget this year was spent on defence or left to pay for hundreds of thousands of extra ‘sick notes for life’?

On Tuesday Facts4EU and GB News exposed how badly the UK has fallen badly behind other NATO states when it comes to increasing its spending on defence. This matters.

UK’s response to threats, by change in defence spend as % of GDP, compared to NATO non-US average

The report clearly shows how other NATO members have responded urgently by increasing their defence expenditure. Meanwhile, the UK’s recommendations for doing the same are sitting on Sir Keir’s desk, and are six months overdue in being released. As a result, the UK 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.

“Get stuffed” - Here’s Admiral The Lord West, speaking to us exclusively about Rachel Reeves

We should add that we're sure the Admiral was making a 'tongue-in-cheek' remark about what may have been the Chancellor's reaction to the suggestion of an immediate increase in defence spend (see below).

Admiral West on the defence budget

“[Sir Keir] laid down initially the fact we were going to go up to 2.5% and then up to 3% 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% 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.'
- Admiral The Rt Hon The Lord West, 29 Mar 2026

And here are the views of Lord Redwood on the same topic

“The UK has run down its defences too far, seeking the peace dividend, but now needs to handle two live wars and many threats to our security. NATO is meant to be hitting a target of 3.5% of GDP for spending, whilst the UK stays marooned at 2.5%. This means we lack the ships, the tanks, the planes, the drones, the missiles a state needs to defend itself in a hostile world.”
- The Rt Hon The Lord Redwood, 02 Apr 2026

Admiral The Lord West on Britain’s lack of serviceable warships

A classic example of how the lack of expenditure has affected the UK’s ability to defend itself and its sovereign bases occurred a month ago, when Iran launched an attack on RAF Akrotiri on Cyprus. Here is the abbreviated story of why we couldn’t send a single ship to defend ourselves.

Britain's Type 45 Destroyers

From 12, to 8, to 6, to not a single one operational and war-ready

Admiral West on the UK's 'fleet' of destroyers

“Well, the [type] 45s, originally there were going to be 12 of them. I remember fighting very hard to try and keep 12, but there were lots of pressures on the budget.”
Interviewer: “It was Tony Blair who cut to six, wasn't it?”
“Absolutely. Well, there were six cut altogether. So first of all, they cut four. It went from 12 to eight and then they cut two more. So went to six, and we should have built 12.”
Interviewer: “But if we'd actually stuck to the original order, surely we wouldn't have had all 12 in maintenance, having those problems with the propulsion in hot climates dealt with at the same time, would we?”
“No, absolutely not.”
“The other thing is, of course, because we've been cut and cut and cut in defence, what they've done is taken away investment in dockyards, in dry docks, being taken away investment in workers and maintenance workers and spare gear and spares and things like that.
“And therefore, things like the work that we knew we needed to do on the Type 45… put a new diesel in her and give her sufficient power. We knew what we were having to do, but instead of saying, crikey, we've only got six of these ships, we must do this as quickly as we can, we went into a very long, slow programme, where actually two of them are still having this done.”
- Admiral The Rt Hon The Lord West, 29 Mar 2026

“Dear Ayatollah, Could you please wait three weeks before attacking us?” Yours, Sir Keir

It seems the Government would have liked three weeks’ notice before Iran attacked the UK’s sovereign base on Cyprus.

Interviewer: “What people don't understand is the lack of urgency, the sort of 9 to 5, Monday to Friday, which seems to be going on with the MOD personnel and bureaucrats. Why isn’t this work being done as a matter of urgency?”
Lord West: “I couldn't agree more, and it's the laziness, and that's been ticking now for a number of years.”
“We should go for a war footing for our defence industries and our military because we are in a very parlous state.”
“We haven't really grasped the urgency of these things. To have only one of our nuclear attack submarines operational for the last 12 months is a national disgrace. It is. It's a disgrace.
“And I'm afraid as regards the frigates and the destroyers, only getting one of those out, taking three weeks…”
“Well, I think that's a very good question. I'd like to know why they weren't accelerated. Why have we lost the ability to understand the geostrategic importance of maritime forces?”
- Admiral The Rt Hon The Lord West, 29 Mar 2026

The Rt Hon Lord Redwood is equally despairing:

“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.”
- The Rt Hon The Lord Redwood, 02 Apr 2026

Could, should the Government have known?

The experience of Admiral Lord West is instructive on the question of whether the Government should have prepared for war in advance.

“I'm afraid politicians and our senior people in Whitehall have lost that overall grasp of those things, which was... So important for our nation. And what prime ministers, even Blair, and others have not realised is, the reason that they were involved with the Americans, the reason they're involved in at the top table, all these events happening like wars in Afghanistan, wars in the Gulf, et cetera, wasn't because they were particularly nice people and everyone loved talking to them. It wasn't because we had wonderful soft power. It was because we had a military that actually could do things.
“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 the south. Didn't want to get involved in the fight. You know, and that's because we could do that.
“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.”
- Admiral The Rt Hon The Lord West, 29 Mar 2026

It is clear that Sir Keir was not “at the top table” when decisions were made because he appears to be seen in Washington as failing to take defence seriously.

Here is Lord Redwood again

“The PM talks of a coalition of the willing to police the Straits of Hormuz, currently closed to western commerce. No-one seriously believes he will send enough force to open the Straits. The US is angry with the UK and other EU members of NATO for not helping and for not doing enough to defend ourselves. This is the result of a government that runs down our defences and places our remaining defence forces in the wrong places at a time of maximum tension.”
- The Rt Hon The Lord Redwood, 02 Apr 2026

Admiral Lord West doesn’t mince his words on the lack of war-readiness

“So we knew there was going to be a fight in 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.”
- Admiral The Rt Hon The Lord West, 29 Mar 2026

The answer is money, spent wisely, and a sense of urgency

The problems are clear, as are the threats. We now know that our vital supplies of oil and other imported goods are under threat from Iran and that it now has missiles capable of hitting the UK itself. In addition to the sense of urgency, money will have to be spent – and fast.

Member of a former Labour government would consider raiding the benefit budget

“We've got to really grasp this nettle. And although it's going to be painful, we have to spend the money now.”
“It's got to be spent now to boost this defence spending, and it's going to have to come from either increased taxation or borrowing or what-not or taking it out of things like the welfare budget.”
- Admiral The Rt Hon The Lord West, 29 Mar 2026

Lord Redwood sums up

“The government delays producing its Defence Investment Plan because it refuses to provide the money needed to back it. They should begin by asking what more do we need. The list is long. We need a better comprehensive system to protect our home islands from incoming missiles, drones and hostile aircraft to match Israel's Iron Dome.
“We need many more drones and autonomous vehicles for the air and at sea to engage with new enemies and help police uncertain trade routes and overseas bases. We need a navy that can do more than put just one ship to sea late in the day when a new threat emerges. We need an army that can more than fill Wembley Stadium with troops and can send more than the odd battalion to a trouble spot.
“The last few weeks have shown we also need to spend the money we are spending better. Expensive naval ships have been delivered with engines that malfunction. It has taken years to develop and produce the Ajax army vehicle. We rightly added two good carriers to the fleet but lacked the full complement of planes and support vessels so we could at least keep one fully supported carrier group on duty at sea. Our air force has fewer front-line planes than at any time from 1940 to 2000.”
- The Rt Hon The Lord Redwood, 02 Apr 2026

Observations

As ever, we are grateful to those who helped to contribute to this report, and in particular Lords West and Redwood for their time. Whilst neither said anything which surprised us or with which we would disagree, their own particular insights based on experience are, we hope, very useful to our readers and to those of GB News.

The overall message is clear. Whilst not everyone will agree with the position the UK and the world finds itself in, it is clear that the UK must be on a war footing.

What this highlights is just how far we have fallen as a country in our position as a world military power. Firstly, of course, we need the Prime Minister and his ministers to develop a sense of urgency. Secondly, Rachel Reeves and the Treasury must draw up a plan very rapidly to pay for it. Our own recommendation is for a crackdown on the benefits budget. This has risen beyond all sense and reason, and if it were put right we could double our spending on defence, which is what is now required to catch up with years of under-investment.

Please, please help us to carry on our vital work in defence of independence, sovereignty, democracy and freedom by donating today. Thank you.

[ Sources: The Rt Hon Admiral The Lord West | The Rt Hon The Lord Redwood | NATO | No.10 ] Politicians and journalists can contact us for details, as ever.

Brexit Facts4EU.Org, Thurs 02 Apr 2026

Click here to go to our news headlines

Please scroll down to COMMENT on the above article.
And don't forget actually to post your message after you have previewed it!

Something to say about this? Scroll down for reader comments

Since before the EU Referendum, Brexit Facts4EU.Org
has been the most prolific researcher and publisher of Brexit facts in the world.

Supported by MPs, MEPs, & other groups, our work has impact.

We think facts matter. Please donate today, so that we can continue to ensure a clean Brexit is finally delivered.

Any credit card user

Quick One-off

From £5 - £1,000

Monthly

From £3 per month

Paypal Users Only - Choose amount first

Quick One-off

Monthly

PLEASE NOTE IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO COMMENT : You can write your comment under any existing comments below. After you have clicked to preview your comment, you MUST then click on the CAPTCHA system and send you comment, for it to be published. Thank you!

Reader Comments 3

1. Mr Sceptic , Thursday, April 02, 2026, 12:13:

Facts4EU: ‘Our own recommendation is for a crackdown on the benefits budget.’
55% of benefit spending in Brexit Britain goes to pensioners.

2. Gazzablack , Thursday, April 02, 2026, 13:11:

1, septic
.
And your point is?

3. NH , Thursday, April 02, 2026, 14:13:

1. Sceptic
Which part of the pension budget would you cut, the state pension or the public sector pensions ? The figure you have quoted includes both. The state pension is funded by National Insurance payments, which most pensioners have paid all their life, and National Insurance receipts presently exceed state pension payments by 40%.
.
Working age benefits presently cost the same as the state pension even though there are presently only half the number of claimants than for the state pension. Most of these have contributed zero or very little to the UK and they are likely to be claiming welfare for far more years than pensioners. Unlike the work-shy and the scroungers many pensioners still pay high levels of tax because they have spent most of their life working.
.
Are you worried that your benefits will be cut and you will have to work for a living for the first time ?

Add comment:

Please note: Your email address is never published unless you choose to enter it.