Growing threats faced by the UK will require “our whole nation stepping up” to ensure the country can continue to function in a crisis, the head of the British armed forces will warn.

Chief of the Defence Staff Sir Richard Knighton will say the situation is “more dangerous than I have known during my career” as he makes the case for a society-wide approach to “defence and deterrence”.

He will call on “people who are not soldiers, sailors or aviators to nevertheless invest their skills – and money” on building up national resilience.

In a speech at the Royal United Services Institute (Rusi) on Monday, Sir Richard is expected to say: “Our armed forces always need to be ready to fight and win – that’s why readiness is such a priority.

“But deterrence is also about our resilience to these

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