Keir Starmer agrees with Army chief’s warning of ‘volatile’ world

In his speech at the Royal United Services Institute land warfare conference, Gen Walker, who took over as chief of the general staff last month, said war was not inevitable and the Army had “just enough time” to prepare itself to avoid conflict.

He said he aimed to double the Army’s fighting power in three years and triple it by the end of the decade.

He vowed to increase the “lethality” of his force through modernisation and new technology, without the need for greater troop numbers.

The size of the UK’s regular Army, excluding volunteers, has been falling in recent years.

Labour has said it is committed to increasing spending on defence to 2.5% of national income when economic conditions allow, with the defence review setting out a “roadmap” for doing this.

However, the Conservatives have criticised the government for not matching its election pledge to reach 2.5% by 2030.