UK’s military power explained after warning ‘war knocking at Europe’s door’

The British military has been shrinking for years – and its capabilities have faced more scrutiny after yesterday’s sobering warning from NATO.

Each of the 32 Nato member countries – including Britain – must prepare for a war on a scale ‘our grandparents and great-grandparents endured’.

Nato chief ‌Mark Rutte urged allies to step up their defence efforts to prevent a war waged by Russia.

In a speech in Berlin, he said that too many allies do not feel the urgency of the ‍threat in Europe and that they must rapidly increase defence spending and production to prevent a war on the scale of that ‍seen by ‍past generations.

It comes after a parliamentary committee laid bare the challenges facing the Government and defence industry, saying the UK ‘cannot afford to bury our heads in the sand’.