An article by the Defence Secretary on the situation in Ukraine -

RT @tomhfh: This you?

RT @RepBrianFitz: Today, I called on the President to address my serious concern regarding reports the United States is withholding critica….

RT @mikepompeo: Ukraine has never asked America to send in the 82nd airborne; they’ve asked for the weapons to defend their homeland and pe….

RT @RepMcCaul: I led the effort to pass the emergency wartime supplemental to ensure Ukraine finally had the weapons it needed to repel Rus….

This announcement boils down to PM buys a different model of American Plane. The NUKE line is an attempt to sound tough. But the reality is we are hollow with no real money increase and artificially inflated GDP % @afneil @BBCNews 4/4.

3. There was only funding agreed for 48 F35B’s (batch 1) By reducing B’s we are now scaling back our carrier provision which were designed to carry 34 F35B’s. So why bother having 65k ships for the similar no. to HMS Illustrious? 3/4.

We will have NO unilateral use of them so it will do little to enhance our UK resilience. 2. The MOD will have to pay ££ millions to make the F35A’s and their crew DCA ( Dual Capable Aircraft) for the privilege of carrying US weapons. Obviously means less money for our own. 2/4.

So another day of Labour Defence spin. The big announcement of F35A’s carrying Nukes is not as it seems. 1. Under the nuclear non-proliferation treaty the UK cannot “buy” nukes from 🇺🇸. We can carry US Nukes for US directed/ SACUR Nato missions only. 1/4.

The threat to our country is real not spin. This government thinks it can use smoke and mirrors to decieve the public and Donald Trump. This is an insult to our troops who will see no significant new money. It fools no one. @NATO @POTUS 2/2.

Tommorrow at the NATO summit we will witness the UK government trying to con the US and NATO with spin on defence spending. By folding in other departments spending and with NO real defence £ increases, the PM will claim 5%. 1/2.

RT @ralakbar: NEW!!! Germany's Merz pushes back on Trump calling for Russia's G7 return. "We are not sitting here in this format with war….

I’d like to be in the room when someone tells the workforce of Mi6, GCHQ and Mi5 they are about to be conscripted and go through Military training…. 3/3.

“In such cases, expenditure is included only in proportion to the forces that are trained in military tactics, are equipped as a military force, can operate under direct military authority in deployed operations”. 2/3.

As Rachel Reeves tries to con us all with her Defence GDP definition it is worth reading NATO’s guidelines on what can count. If you claim other forces/police or intelligence you can only do so IF 1/3.

RT @Telegraph: 🔴 The old Treasury con of reclassifying other existing spending as ‘defence’ has been wheeled out again | Writes @BenWallace….

oh you can also throw in the Chagos Islands ££ spending as well.

All of that means that the core defence budget will NOT be 2.5% of GDP. Fiddling figures and Treasury tricks will not fool Russia or China and def NOT the US! 2/2.

disappointing Labour’s Secretary of State wasn’t able to stop the Treasury artificially inflating the Defence GDP figures. “Tucking under” the following: 1. The Single Intelligence account ( 0.16% GDP). 2. Ukraine money ( 0.07% GDP) .3. and now the FCDO’s “Non ODA budget” 1/2.

Time the UK understood the time to prepare is now.