UK has entered the ‘most dangerous period’ in decades, the head of military warns

The UK may have to make ‘different choices and different priorities’ in the face of growing threats from Russia.

That’s the warning issued by Sir Richard Knighton, the chief of defence staff.

Talking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, he said the UK is in ‘the most dangerous period’ in decades and we need to prepare of potential ‘longer conflicts’.

He cites Russia using cyber attacks, technology smuggling, reckless sabotage and ‘assassination attempts’ to test and challenge our defences.

Sir Richard also said the country needs to invest more in our drone capability because they’re ‘going to be increasingly important in the future of warfare’.

He said: ‘In my 35-year career, this is the most dangerous period that I have known, and as a consequence, it is important that we enhance the capability and the readiness of our armed forces alongside our allies to deter our adversaries from doing something daft.

‘Over the last two decades we have been preparing for shorter wars and for conflicts that are confined and limited, what we need to ready ourselves for is potentially much greater, longer conflicts, as we’ve seen in Ukraine.’

On Monday, the Defence Secretary John Healy told MPs Prime Minister Keir Starmer was hoping to launch the UK’s long-await defence investment plan before the Nato summit in Turkey on July 7.

Russian drones ended up on Nato’s doorstep after a block of flats in Romania was struck in the early hours of last Friday.

It sparked calls from the country’s foreign minister to trigger Article 4 – an emergency meeting between member nations.

The incident drew widespread condemnation globally, including from Sir Keir who called the attack a ‘serious violation of Nato airspace’.