Armed forces chief says Russian threat to Nato will require 'whole nation stepping up' to make UK more resilient
Blaise Metreweli, the new head of MI6, is not the only defence and security figure giving a big speech today.
Sir Richard Knighton, who as chief of the defence staff is head of the armed forces, is also giving a speech, to the Royal United Services Institute this evening, and he will say the threat from Russia is so serious that the whole nation, and not just the military, needs to step up to increase Britain’s resilience.
According to extracts released in advance, he will say:
The situation is more dangerous than I have known during my career and the response requires more than simply strengthening our armed forces. A new era for defence doesn’t just mean our military and government stepping up – as we are – it means our whole nation stepping up …
Our armed forces always need to be ready to fight and win – that’s why readiness is such a priority.
But deterrence is also about our resilience to these threats, it’s about how we harness all our national power, from universities, to industry, the rail network to the NHS. It’s about our defence and resilience being a higher national priority for all of us. An ‘all-in’ mentality.
And that will require people who are not soldiers, sailors or aviators to nevertheless invest their skills – and money – in innovation and problem solving on the nation’s behalf.
As an example of what he means by the whole nation stepping up, Knighton will announce that £50m is being set aside to establish defence technical excellence colleges. They will provide courses needed to train staff for defence employers quickly. He will explain:
Five colleges in England, and others across the UK, will gain specialist status and major new funding to train people in the skills needed to secure new defence jobs, and help deliver on the ambitions set out in the SDR.
In addition to training young people for the new jobs of the future, this funding will also support thousands of short courses so defence employers can upskill existing staff quickly, providing the versatility that they – and we – need.
Knighton will say that the war in Ukraine has shown Vladimir Putin’s willingness to target neighbouring states, including their civilian populations, and he will say Russia has made it clear it wants to destroy Nato.
The Russian leadership has made clear that it wishes to challenge, limit, divide and ultimately destroy Nato, in former President Medvedev’s words, aspiring to “the disappearance of Ukraine and the disappearance of Nato – preferably both”.
The Ministry of Defence is describing Knighton’s speech as “rallying cry to the nation”.
Yesterday the Labour MP Andrew Gwynne dismissed as “idle speculation” reports he could resign his Gorton and Denton seat in Greater Manchester as part of an Andy Burnham “coup” against Keir Starmer.
In their London Playbook briefing for Politico, Sam Blewett and Noah Keate suggest that, even if a seat like Gorton and Denton were to become available, Labour’s national executive committee (which is controlled by Keir Starmer supporters) would not necessarily let Burnham stand as the candidate.
Figures on Labour’s ruling NEC are still talking down the prospect that Burnham would make it past a selection board to become a candidate, particularly if it’s a seat outside his Manchester fiefdom. “Why would the NEC of the Labour Party spend £100,000 trying to get someone elected whose intention was to run against the leader?” as one official put it to Playbook. “That would be mad and completely self-destructive.”
But, in posts on social media, Rob Ford, a politics professor at Manchster University, questions whether, in practice, the NEC would feel strong enough to block a Burnham candidature.
‘Absolute power’ on paper doesn’t translate to absolute power in practice. Whether the NEC feels able to do this comes down to, I expect, whether vetoing a Burnham return would provoke a leadership challenge or a serious PLP revolt. I suspect it may well do.
If enough MPs were to say to the whips or Downing Street “If you do this, you have basically lost us for good” then an NEC veto becomes a pyrrhic victory for Starmer and his colleagues - yes they can do it, but by doing so they risk ending up in office but not in power.
Personally I think the bigger risk for Burnham is he either (a) loses the Commons by-election or (b) wins the by-election but then Labour lose the Greater Manchester Mayoral by-election that follows. Either one would seriously damage his brand.
By-election loss would damage his claim to be a vote winner, loss of GM would make his move to the Commons look like putting personal interest before the interests of the party (or of GM)
Yvette Cooper calls for immediate release of Jimmy Lai after his conviction for sedition offences
Yvette Cooper, the foreign secretary, has issued a statement calling for the immediate release of Jimmy Lai after the media tycoon and pro-democracy campaigner was convicted in Hong Kong of national security and sedition offences.
Rishi Sunak to give evidence to Covid inquiry about econonomic response to pandemic
Rishi Sunak is giving evidence to the Covid inquiry this morning. The inquiry has moved on to the module looking at the economic response to the pandemic, and Sunak, who was chancellor at the time, is giving evidence all today, and tomorrow morning.
Yohannes Lowe is covering it in a separate live blog.
Green leader Zack Polanski has highest approval ratings of all UK party leaders, poll suggests
Later today Zack Polanski, the Green party leader, is due to announce some councillor defections. He will do so buoyed up by some polling from Opinium suggesting he is the most popular of the UK party leaders. It says:
The Greens’ leader, Zack Polanski, is currently the most popular party leader with voters at net -1, with the Lib Dems’ Ed Davey close behind on net -4.
No political leader is in net positive territory with voters, with Keir Starmer most unpopular at net -43 (+2), while Kemi Badenoch is up four points at net -10 and Nigel Farage stands at net -12 (+2). [Changes from Opinium polling three weeks ago.]
Opinium also found that the Green party outperforms Labour and the Conservatives when voters are asked to rate the parties according to a series of positive indicators.
The only indicator where Labour and the Tories beat the Greens is “ready for government”, although the Greens are only one point ahead of the Tories on “can be trusted to take big decisions”.
Updated
Government announces extra funding for safe housing for domestic abuse survivors
Good morning. The news will be dominated by two foreign stories today: the ongoing response to the Hanukah killings at Bondi beach, which we are covering on a live blog here, and the latest talks in Berlin tonight on peace proposals for Ukraine. Keir Starmer is a key partner in this process, and he will be flying to Germany to attend.
But first he will have to spend 90 minutes at the Commons liaison committee taking questions, not on foreign policy, but instead mostly on “the Plan for Change: one year on”. These hearings normally don’t reveal as much as a lengthy interrogation of the PM on policy probably should, but there is shortage of complaints about the government’s record over the past year and there are plenty of interesting questions that could be asked.
Part of Labour’s plan for change is to halve violence against women and girls over a decade and this week we are getting a series of announcements about that. As Geraldine McElvie reported at the weekend, all police forces in England and Wales are going to get a dedicated rape and sexual offences teams by 2029.
There is more today. The government is announcing that councils will receive a further £19m aimed at providing safe housing for domestic abuse survivors as part of the violence against women and girls (VAWG) strategy.
PA Media has more details. It says:
Ministers said the funding would help local authorities offer victims access to a “fresh start” on top of £480m already pledged over the next three years for support including refuges and sanctuary schemes.
Shabana Mahmood, the home secretary, is set to unveil sweeping reforms to the criminal justice system this week as part of government plans to halve Vawg, which it has declared a “national emergency”, within a decade.
Around £500m will go towards the domestic abuse safe accommodation duty, which places a statutory requirement on local authorities to provide support to survivors and children in safe accommodation.
Measures can include access to housing in refuges or confidential locations, or security upgrades such as lock changes and alarms for people staying in their own home.
Homelessness minister Alison McGovern said: “This funding will help local authorities provide safe accommodation and tailored support, including refuges and sanctuary schemes, so every survivor can access safety, stability and a fresh start.”
Mahmood will unveil the VAWG strategy on Thursday, the last day the Commons is sitting before the Christmas recess.
Here is the agenda for the day.
10.30am: Rishi Sunak, the former PM and former chancellor, gives evidence to the Covid inquiry about the economic response to the pandemic.
Morning: Kemi Badenoch is on a visit to promote the Conservative party’s call for an end the 2030 ban on new petrol and diesel cars.
11am: Danny Kruger, who is in charge of Reform UK’s planning for government, holds a press conference.
11.30am: Downing Street holds a lobby briefing.
2pm: Keir Starmer gives evidence to the Commons liaison committee.
2.30pm: John Healey, the defence secretary, takes questions in the Commons.
Afternoon: Blaise Metreweli gives her first speech at the new head of MI6. As Dan Sabbagh reports, she will warn that assassination plots, sabotage, cyber-attacks and the manipulation of information by Russia and other hostile states mean that “the frontline is everywhere”.
After 3.30pm: MPs vote to overturn last week’s Lords defeat on the employment rights bill.
Afternoon: Starmer flies to Berlin for talks about Ukraine.
5pm: Zack Polanski, the Green party, speaks at a press conference to announce councillor defections to his party.
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