UK will have to ‘dial back’ military plans without more funding, says chief of defence

Rich Knighton tells Lords committee he is ‘most concerned’ about impact on day-to-day military activities

Britain will have to “dial back” on military operations and exercises in the next few years if the Ministry of Defence (MoD) does not receive extra funding from Downing Street and the Treasury, the UK’s most senior military officer has said.

Rich Knighton, the chief of the defence staff, told a Lords committee that he was “most concerned” about the budgets for day-to-day activities – in his first public appearance after the resignation of John Healey as defence secretary last week.