Government orders Ministry of Defence officials to prepare for 'war in our backyard'

Ministry of Defence officials have been told to prepare the nation for war "in our own backyard". Staff responsible for spending the nation's £288 billion defence procurement budget were told to speed up the process and equip the armed forces "to be ready to fight", even if it meant taking more risks with public money. The instruction came from Defence Minister Luke Pollard, who was appointed in September as the minister responsible for procurement. He said: "We are not at war, but nor are we at peace any longer."

It follows warnings from other defence experts that the UK is effectively at war with Russia already. Last week George Robertson, the former General Secretary of NATO who previously served as Defence Secretary, said: "Russia is clearly at war with us. I've no doubt at all that even though we're not at war with them, they've clearly declared war on us." Russian President Vladimir Putin's regime was using organised criminals to conduct sabotage operations in western Europe, he said.

The Kremlin has also sent drones into Polish airspace and jets into Estonia to test the West's defences.

The Ministry of Defence has allocated £288.6 billion for equipment and support over ten years from 2023 to 2033, and Mr Pollard told defence industry insiders the Government wants to cut the time required to buy new equipment by more than half. He said: "Procurements that take five years need to take two years. Those that take two, need to take one."

The Minister warned: "We need to be ready for war fighting in a way that we have not done for many years, not expeditionary war fighting, but securing our own backyard."

He said the Ministry of Defence was changing its "risk ratios", adding: "Peacetime procurement was fine when we were in a peacetime, but you all know that we are not at war, but nor are we at peace any longer.

"So our procurement system needs to adapt, and that means we need a different approach to how we look at risk, and a cultural shift about how we do that, and that means shifting our focus to readiness and growth, to war-fighting readiness."

The change doesn't affect the quality of the equipment used by the armed forces, but is intended to speed up the process of obtaining it.

And Mr Pollard said the role of procurement is "equipping our people to be able to be ready to fight."

Foreign policy experts said the UK must be ready to defend itself. Alan Mendoza, Executive Director of the Henry Jackson Society, said: "The time for talk on this matter is over. If Ministers truly believe Britain is 'not at peace' then they must act like it. With ever-increasing threats and new forms of warfare emerging, the Government needs to set out a clear plan and a firm commitment for how our armed forces will be ready should conflict come. Speeches don't deter adversaries - credible capability does."

But an insider at the Minister of Defence's Defence Equipment and Support agency based in Bristol, which oversees procurement, said the Minister's comments had caused confusion. They said: "As no one is quite sure what the Minister means by taking risks with contracts, many of us are now hesitating about what is required.

"Most of my colleagues want him to clarify exactly what type of risks are acceptable and those not to avoid costly mistakes for the taxpayer."