NEW: The security outlook for the UK and its allies is far more dangerous now than at any time in the past 30 years, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, the new head of the armed forces has warned in his first speech.
Mentioning the UK’s 4 main rivals by name, the new Chief of the Defence Staff called Russia’s behaviour “a threat to our values and interests” - yet he made no mention of Ukraine despite heightened concern at a threat of another Russian invasion of the country.
Admiral Radakin accused China of “challenging international norms of behaviour: whether freedom of navigation, economic intimidation or wolf-warrior diplomacy”.
And on Iran & North Korea, the UK’s new military chief said Tehran could “soon” join Pyongyang in posing a “nuclear and ballistic missile threat” to the UK and its allies.
The new military chief also touched on reputational impact of US-led pull out from #Afghanistan over in wake of Taliban takeover. “Like it or not, our withdrawal from Afghanistan is grist to the mill for those who subscribe to a narrative around the decline of the West,” he said.
Admiral Radakin also revealed his priorities as head of the military, describing as “woeful” a persistent lack of women in defence – and made a dig at officers who have been convicted of fiddling military expenses to benefit themselves, such as by wrongly claiming for school fees
“This is not about wokefulness. It is about woefulness. The woefulness of too few women… not reflecting the ethnic, religious and cognitive diversity of our nation. And … not following our own values, whether respect for each other or the simple integrity of claiming expenses”
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