General Patrick Sanders, UK Chief of the General Staff, may step down in a show of protest against the Ministry of Defense’s planned cuts to the British military.
A UK newspaper cited unnamed defense sources, among them Sanders’ friends, as saying that unless the Treasury firmly pledges that defense spending will increase, he may view his position as untenable.
30 January 2023, 13:34 GMT
One source argued that "Paddy is not the sort of person to start thumping a table and make threats about quitting, but he will have drawn a line in the sand and said to himself, 'This far and no further,' and [Defense Secretary] Ben Wallace knows that."
The source insisted "it is hard to remember" when the UK army "has been in a worse state", adding, "Recruitment is down, housing problems and poor pay are undermining morale, and there is a widely held belief that the Army is the poor relation of the three armed services, and has suffered significantly while the RAF [Royal Air Force] and the Royal Navy have both prospered."
Another insider, in turn, pointed out that even though he "can understand" Sanders’ sentiment, he doesn't think the UK army chief "would walk."
"He probably feels that it is better to be inside the tent than outside. I should imagine that he feels that he can do more by staying in post than by resigning. But if he does walk there will not be a threat. That's not his style," the insider claimed.
This came amid reports that the chief of the General Staff is "deeply concerned" about the army's operational capability after decades of cuts. The 56-year-old recently warned that the Ukraine conflict has left the UK army weaker and that "three decades of disinvestment" have led to British troops using outdated military hardware. He also described the planned cuts to the army as "perverse", stressing that the force needed to grow.
In separate development this week, senior Tories urged Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to abandon further cuts to the army by raising defense funding at next month’s budget. They called on Hunt to ensure the number of troops is held at the current level of about 76,000, instead of slashing it to 73,000 by 2025.
Defense sources, however, told a UK news outlet that both Hunt and the Treasury had not heeded these calls.
"We know that at the moment the Treasury and the chancellor are playing hardball. They recognize the threats. They recognize the pressure defense is under from inflation, the nuclear deterrent, stockpiles and Ukraine. But despite recognizing the threats and the pressure, they say there is no more money," the sources argued.
Another British media outlet reported "as the UK sends tanks, weapons and ammunition to Ukraine, many fear the British Armed Forces have now been left ill-equipped for their own military targets."
Shortly after Russia began its special military operation in Ukraine, the US and its allies, including the UK, ramped up military aid to Kiev, with Britain pledging earlier this year the delivery of its 14 main battle tanks, the Challenger 2, to Zelensky's government. Moscow has repeatedly warned the Western countries that sending weapons to Kiev adds to the prolonging of the Ukraine conflict.