This is the sort of rumour that *should* be easily laughed off as utterly implausible, particularly in the current global situation.
That it seems to be causing more of a "they wouldn't... would they...?" response is a pretty good indicator of how far wrong things have gone.
@BO3673 Yeah, whether we’ll spend any more money on defence, by the sounds of it! I just can’t believe the intransigence. I don’t think I’ve ever known anything like it from a British government.
Some of the responses here are unhinged. The country is fast becoming a powder keg and I really don’t like it one bit. It’s quite clear that there are many, who have no real interest in the issues at hand, who are quite keen to pile it up further. Mindless stuff.
Houses are being set on fire near us in east Belfast. Masked groups have approached the GBN crew and told us in no uncertain terms to leave.
We moved back but it wasn’t far enough for one man who was threatening to us. UUP leader Jon Burrows appeared and settled it.
Something has shifted in Britain. A change that was building for a long time has burst upon us. We see it in the reaction to Henry Nowak’s murder. We see it in the response to the failure to section Valdo Calocane.
People are no longer paralysed by the fear of saying the wrong thing on race. They understand that this fear contributed to both tragedies.
They grasp that, as long as being accused of lacking proper racial sensitivity was the worst thing that could happen to a public-sector worker, the incentives were skewed. They sense that the same anxiety lay behind the failure to restrain Axel Rudakubana, and that it hampered investigation of the rape gangs. They see, in short, that anti-racism has become literally lethal.
I fear the backlash will not be pretty. I hope we can stick to the ideal of a society in which skin colour matters no more than hair colour. But I worry that we may be past that point. The anti-racist bellicosity that we have seen since the Great Awokening, especially from 2015, is conjuring an ugly response. Precisely as some of us tried to warn at the time.
@BO3673 Yeah it sounds like the wheels are falling off it fast and all before it ever even hit the track...We knew it was going to be disappointing, and nothing like what's needed, but now it risks being all that plus a chaotic wreck to boot!
1/ Why is Russia so vulnerable to Ukraine's mid-range drone attacks? Russian drone developer Alexey Chadayev says that it's due to an ongoing and unresolved series of Russian failures in developing new interceptor drones and anti-drone capabilities. ⬇️
https://t.co/mYt6zo8WMv
@PaulEmbery I think the public is rapidly reaching a tipping point where they no longer care for nuance. They just want their frustrations dealt with and to their satisfaction. I'm not saying an approach without nuance is the right way to handle our issues, but I fear it's where we are.
Anyone else hearing mutterings of the potential need for a... (and I am attempting to stifle hysterical laughter here) "Strategic Defence Review Refresh"?
This is not something that's being talked about officially as far as I can tell. But the mere fact it is even being rumoured in the margins is enough to make me want to scream or weep or both!
Apparently, the thinking is that a refresh might be needed because so much time has passed since the SDR came out + the chronic delay in the Defence Investment Plan. And then there is the whole possible change of PM.
Hmmmmm. Good job defence is completely sorted already. Oh wait. No. You're right. It is not...
@FennellJW They are only temporary jobs unless the Govt commits to proper re-armament with new kit replacing old on a rolling basis. Hot lines, lower costs, double dip at export (new & used) with the option to build a healthy reserve…
This is the @irish_guards using an in-barracks CQB/UAS facility they built themselves.
They train their own drone operators, build their own drones & train almost daily.
All built off initiatives from their own ranks.I had the pleasure to visit a while back. Cracking job! 🤜💥🤛
Government is of course about balancing competing demands and priorities, but given the (real) seriousness of the moment, it's hard to interpret Labour's abject dereliction of their first duty in any other way now. Everyone's given them more than a fair shot to prove us wrong...
It is a mark of shame for this Labour government that we’re still waiting for the Defence Investment Plan. Even worse that reports say it won’t be funded properly.
It has been over a year since the government concluded its review of our armed forces. The investment plan should have been published last autumn. The military is tearing its hair out waiting for Keir Starmer to make a decision. British jobs are on the line. Our national security is being undermined.
Labour do not understand defence. The Conservatives were ready to send munitions and supplies to Ukraine at the start of that war. Keir Starmer has been caught on the back foot since the war in Iran began.
I have said the next Conservative government will make sure we prioritise defence spending in a more dangerous world. We will reinstate the two child benefit cap, and use it to fund a larger military. And we will divert money away from Ed Miliband’s net zero projects and into a Strategic Defence Fund, capable of raising up to £50 billion for our armed forces.
Labour only care about funding welfare, they cannot be trusted with our national security.
Let us introduce you to the #BIOT Patrol Vessel. Originally designed to support oil rigs in the North Sea, she’s made a new home in BIOT, where she protects against illegal fishing in one of the world’s largest no-take Marine Protected Areas. Penalties can be severe for those she catches: the seizure of kit, substantial fines or even prison.
On DIP timing, one option under discussion is for Starmer to unveil the cash settlement and some headline announcements on Thurs... without publishing the full blueprint as uncertainty persists about which military programmes will be funded by it (!), acc to govt figure
There’s particular pressure to announce GCAP funding (set to be around £6bn) ahead of imminent Japanese PM visit later this week