In a quieter morning for UK Defence news, the broadcast headlines are dominated by news that more offenders than ever are being prosecuted for violence against women and girls, with the level of convictions for these offences also up. Also running prominently in the bulletins are previews of today’s European Council meeting, where the Prime Minister will formally present his proposals for EU reform to all 28 member states for the first time. The meeting comes after the Queen warned against division in Europe during her state visit to Germany. However, it is expected that the summit will be dominated by the migrant crisis in the Mediterranean and Calais, and the possibility of a Greek default.
Russia
The Telegraph, The Times and Financial Times report that Britain and its NATO allies are to review their preparedness for a nuclear stand-off with Russia in response to Vladimir Putin's threats to upgrade his arsenal.Reports state that it is a return to Cold War strategies, with defence ministers due to hold an additional meeting of the NATO Nuclear Planning Group to review what they know about the Kremlin's nuclear policies. With concern that the loss of vocabulary of nuclear dialogue risks innocent actions by NATO being misinterpreted by the Kremlin, the Defence Secretary said: “Russia’s nuclear messaging is not helpful and it is important that we better understand its implications for the alliance.” The Telegraph comments that the meeting comes at a time when the Government is under pressure to keep Defence spending over the 2% NATO threshold. Speaking inBrussels yesterday, the Defence Secretary denied that Britain was "padding out our numbers" to meet the target, after new rules allowed the UK to report an extra £1.2 billion from internal receipts.
The Guardian argues that updating NATO's nuclear policy would amount to an escalation in tit-for-tat exchanges with Russia since the Ukraine crisis erupted last year.
The Wall Street Journal Europe details how NATO is taking further steps to respond to Russian threats, including accelerating the deployment of its new Very High Readiness Joint Task Force. Commenting in Brussels yesterday, the Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said that unit would now be “a rapid-response force worthy of the name,” with the UK providing at least 1,000 troops for the force each year for the next decade.
Defence Spending
The Times reports that Britain keeps defence spending comfortably above the NATO target by including several new items, including more than £1 billion raised through renting out military property and selling fuel. The MOD says that "receipts" form part of the expected £39 Billion defence budget that Britain declared to NATO for this year. Speaking in Brussels yesterday, the Defence Secretary said the suggestion that the MOD was padding out the numbers was “disgraceful” and that Britain had come “top of the class’” for what it spent last calendar year and is expected to spend this year.
The important point to understand is that every penny that‘s included in our NATO return is spent on defence. It is therefore obviously sensible to include it and it is in line with NATO guidelines of what should be included. What matters is what is spent on Defence, not whether the money comes from the Treasury or any another source. The income into the MOD is reinvested in Defence.
DDC outlined the department’s position on this topic in a blog on Monday, see here for what we have to say on the NATO returns.
Foreign Aid
The Sun splashed with claims that taxpayers' cash is being spent on projects such as finding mates for tropical fish off Africa as the FCO wasted its £434 million aid budget. The article reports that the UK has become one of five nations to devote 0.7 per cent of national income to foreign aid but still refuses to commit to the NATO target of 2 per cent defence spending. Funds have even been sent to China, where the economy is booming, as well as India, where they have an active space programme. It has also been diverted to projects associated with EU. The Foreign Secretary has launched an immediate review of FCO aid spending. An FCO spokesperson says: "Some of those examples are frivolous to say the least. Clearly there are going to have to be some changes to tighten up the approvals and authorisation process. There are some very good aid projects which we spend money on. "The vast majority are value for money and in people's interest."
Yemen
GCHQ is facing fresh calls to reveal the extent of its involvement in the US targeted killing programme after details of a fatal drone strike in Yemen are included in a top-secret memo circulated to agency staff, reports the Guardian. A leading barrister says they raise questions about British complicity in US strikes outside recognised war zones and demonstrate the need for the Government to come clean about the UK's role. The documents were provided by Edward Snowden and discuss how a joint US, UK and Australian programme codenamed Overhead supported the strike in Yemen in 2012. The files also show GCHQ and Overhead developed their ability to track the location of individuals in Yemen and Pakistan.
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