FORMER Defence Minister, Philip Dunne, has called for plans to cut the size of the British Army to be deferred or scrapped, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Speaking in the House of Commons Mr Dunne, who is MP for Ludlow, asked Defence Minister, James Heappey MP, to review plans to cut 9,500 regular soldiers from the size of the British Army, in light of increased troop commitments by NATO to deployments in Eastern Europe.

In response, the Minister for the Armed Forces said he recognised the concerns Mr Dunne raised, and that the MOD had opted to accelerate plans to upgrade the lethality of equipment, rather than specifically to sustain force numbers.

Commenting afterwards, Mr Dunne said: “Russia’s aggression in Ukraine shows we cannot be complacent when it comes to defence, and when it comes to the British Army, mass does matter, even if diffused over a large geography.

“I have made clear to the government my own view that we should look again at the conclusions drawn in the 2021 Integrated Review, and at least defer, or preferably reverse, plans to take 9,500 regular soldiers out of the Army.

“Given equipment needs, we should also review how much we spend on Defence relative to GDP, and consider uplifting spending to a level that ensures we are ready to meet the very real threats to peace and security increasing around the world.”

Mr Dunne served as Minister for Defence Procurement and during that time he visited forces in Afghanistan.