As part of the violence against women and girls (VAWG) strategy councils will receive a further £19m
Blaise Metreweli, the new head of MI6, is not the only defence and security figure giving a big speech today.
Sir Richard Knighton, who as chief of the defence staff is head of the armed forces, is also giving a speech, to the Royal United Services Institute this evening, and he will say the threat from Russia is so serious that the whole nation, and not just the military, needs to step up to increase Britain’s resilience.
The situation is more dangerous than I have known during my career and the response requires more than simply strengthening our armed forces. A new era for defence doesn’t just mean our military and government stepping up – as we are – it means our whole nation stepping up …
Our armed forces always need to be ready to fight and win – that’s why readiness is such a priority.
Five colleges in England, and others across the UK, will gain specialist status and major new funding to train people in the skills needed to secure new defence jobs, and help deliver on the ambitions set out in the SDR.
In addition to training young people for the new jobs of the future, this funding will also support thousands of short courses so defence employers can upskill existing staff quickly, providing the versatility that they – and we – need.
The Russian leadership has made clear that it wishes to challenge, limit, divide and ultimately destroy Nato, in former President Medvedev’s words, aspiring to “the disappearance of Ukraine and the disappearance of Nato – preferably both”.
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Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2025/dec/15/domestic-abuse-survivors-keir-starmer-labour-rishi-sunak-covid-uk-politics-live-news
Author : Andrew Sparrow
Publish date : 2025-12-15 11:32:00
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