The Iranian abduction of 15 British Navy personnel last week has brought into sharp focus the daily dangers that our servicemen and women are undergoing by protecting British interests around the world. We ask so much of our armed forces and in return we spend so relatively little. Indeed, it is that apparent lack of commitment to defence spending that may have contributed to Iran’s flagrant actions last week, in that we may very well have appeared weak.
Since the taking of the 15 servicemen (including one woman), the British government has reacted with a calm firmness. So far, this approach does not appear to be bearing fruit. Today, there are further reports that the abducted Britons will be charged with espionage for having taken “an aggressive action” by “invading Iranian waters”. The ultimate penalty for this charge if convicted would be death. Now, I do not suspect that this will be the outcome, however, there is a sense that Britain alone has few options to pursue in securing the safe release of its service personnel. This state of affairs should concern us all.
I am not advocating a military solution to this situation. I am, however, suggesting that if Britain wants to continue wielding military and diplomatic strength around the world, it needs to dramatically increase its spending on conventional forces. Britain spends proportionately less of its wealth on defence than Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey. Defence spending as a percentage of the UK’s gross domestic product is at its lowest since 1930. Government figures show that 2.5 per cent of our GDP (£32 billion) was spent on defence in 2005/6 compared with 4.4 per cent in 1987/88. Our spending as a proportion of national wealth is just over half that of the USA. And this apparent lower level of funding is despite the fact that the present Labour government has presided over a big increase in operational commitments: Operation Desert Fox to destroy Saddam Hussein’s capability to produce weapons of mass destruction (1998), Kosovo (1999 – ), Sierra Leone (2000 – ), Afghanistan (2001 -) and Operation Telic in Iraq (2003 – ). The Conservative Party’s Defence Team has calculated that troop numbers have fallen from 101,360 full-time personnel in 1997 to 99,460 in 2007, while the Royal Air Force has seen offensive squadrons fall from 16 to 11, and the Navy has lost eight destroyers and six frigates. This should not be politically acceptable.
This government has been quick to place our forces in action. I would have initially supported each of the campaigns listed above, however, my support would have been qualified on the basis of a genuine government commitment to proper investment in our armed forces. Recent history teaches us that we have always compromised our defence in times of peace only to find ourselves overwhelmed by events when a war looms. Let us hope that this on-going Iranian dispute ends peacefully. However, what if it does not?
