Military news

• UK given stark warning over ‘very limited’ air defence systems

  12-05-2024 18:10 via theguardian.com
  
  Exclusive: Key defence contractor says UK’s capabilities are ‘negligible’ as a result of long-term under-investmentBritain’s air defence systems are “very limited, to the point of being negligible”, a key defence contractor has claimed, as the Ministry of Defence warned of the gravest risk of attack from the skies in 30 years.Northrop Grumman UK, a leading provider of defence technology to the RAF and Royal Navy, offered its assessment in response to questioni
  
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• British paratroopers landing in France for D-day event told to show passports

  06-06-2024 18:57 via theguardian.com
  
  French officials asked to see papers of 400 soldiers after drop in Normandy for 80th anniversary of WWII assaultEyebrows were raised at the Ministry of Defence when French immigration and customs insisted on checking the paperwork of 400 British paratroopers immediately after they dropped into fields near Saneville, Normandy on Wednesday.Some felt the French were trying to make a point in the response to the UK’s decision to leave the EU and, while immigration checks for British troops on
  
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• British paratroopers dropping in French field for D-day event asked for passports

  06-06-2024 18:57 via theguardian.com
  
  French officials insist on checking paperwork of 400 troops landing in Normandy for 80th anniversary commemorationEyebrows were raised at the Ministry of Defence when French immigration and customs insisted on checking the paperwork of 400 British paratroopers immediately after they dropped into fields near Saneville, Normandy on Wednesday.Some felt the French were trying to make a point in response to the UK’s decision to leave the EU and, while immigration checks for British troops on ex
  
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• UK politics: IFS attacks Tory pledge not to reform ‘absurd’ council tax system – as it happened

  06-06-2024 18:47 via theguardian.com
  
  Thinktank says at least half of houses are in the ‘wrong band’ with those in the north of England and Midlands paying too muchAnneliese Dodds, the Labour party chair, has said the revelation that the Tories are still taking money from Frank Hester shows Rishi Sunak has “no integrity”. In a statement she said:Rishi Sunak has proven he is a man with no integrity.He is too weak to return the money donated by a man who has made violent, misogynist, and racist remarks which be
  
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• IFS attacks Tory pledge not to reform ‘absurd’ council tax system – UK politics live

  06-06-2024 17:56 via theguardian.com
  
  Thinktank says at least half of houses are in the ‘wrong band’ with those in the north of England and Midlands paying too muchAnneliese Dodds, the Labour party chair, has said the revelation that the Tories are still taking money from Frank Hester shows Rishi Sunak has “no integrity”. In a statement she said:Rishi Sunak has proven he is a man with no integrity.He is too weak to return the money donated by a man who has made violent, misogynist, and racist remarks which be
  
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• IFS attacks ‘absurd’ Tory pledge not to reform council tax – UK politics live

  06-06-2024 17:43 via theguardian.com
  Thinktank says at least half of houses are in the ‘wrong band’ with those in the north of England and Midlands paying too muchAnneliese Dodds, the Labour party chair, has said the revelation that the Tories are still taking money from Frank Hester shows Rishi Sunak has “no integrity”. In a statement she said:Rishi Sunak has proven he is a man with no integrity.He is too weak to return the money donated by a man who has made violent, misogynist, and racist remarks which be
  
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• D-day 80th anniversary – in pictures

  06-06-2024 10:58 via theguardian.com
  
  Commemorations for the official anniversary of the D-day invasion of mainland Europe during the second world war by British, Canadian and other Commonwealth troops alongside the US and the Free FrenchD-day 80th anniversary – live updates Continue reading...
  
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• ‘Eternal debt’: 200 surviving veterans are focus of this year’s D-day

  05-06-2024 23:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Memorials in England and Normandy were curated in the knowledge that it may well be the last opportunity to thank the former soldiers in personAt the dying of the day, as dark descended across the beaches of Normandy, where the blood of so many thousands was spilled 80 years ago, each of the headstones of the 4,600 men lying in the Bayeux war cemetery was aglow.King Charles, in his first significant pronouncement since his cancer diagnosis in February, had spoken earlier in Portsmouth of the &ld
  
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• Stories of D-day veterans: ‘They feared they had lost the war’

  05-06-2024 19:39 via theguardian.com
  
  Five people share what they know of their relatives’ experiences in June 1944 and their lives afterwardsOn 6 June 1944, allied troops took part in Operation Overlord, a combined naval, air and land assault on the beaches of Normandy, which led to the liberation of Europe and the end of the second world war.Ahead of the 80th anniversary of D-day, five people share their relatives’ experiences of the largest seaborne invasion in history. Continue reading...
  
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• Foreign Office ‘quiet diplomacy’ futile in overseas arrest cases, says expert

  05-06-2024 19:10 via theguardian.com
  
  Academic tortured in UAE tells families of Britons arrested in controversial circumstances abroad to go public promptlyFamilies of Britons arrested in controversial circumstances abroad should raise concerns promptly in public because Foreign Office “quiet diplomacy” is not effective, an expert has warned after the arrest of a former British Royal Marine in Dubai.Matthew Hedges, a British academic who was detained and tortured in the United Arab Emirates in 2018, said the case of Mat
  
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• ‘Courage and solidarity’: King Charles pays tribute to veterans of D-day

  05-06-2024 15:02 via theguardian.com
  
  Royals, politicians and military leaders begin two days of events to mark 80th anniversary of Normandy landingsThe king has paid tribute to D-day veterans at a commemorative event in Portsmouth marking the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings.Charles said their “stories of courage, resilience and solidarity” move, inspire and “remind us of what we owe to that great wartime generation – now, tragically, dwindling to so few”. Continue reading...
  
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• ‘It is gradually dying away’: D-day veteran keeps story alive 80 years on

  05-06-2024 10:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Ken Cooke was 18 and more worried about wet socks than bullets when he landed in Normandy on 6 June 1944The first ship Ken Cooke ever saw was the one that took him from Southampton to the beaches of Normandy in the early hours of 6 June 1944. He was 18 and an infantryman in the 7th battalion of the Green Howards, known as the Yorkshire regiment, with six weeks’ basic training under his belt. “You could walk across the harbour without getting your feet wet, you know, that many ships,&
  
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• King Charles and Rishi Sunak to join veterans for 80th anniversary of D-day

  05-06-2024 06:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Two days of events will be held in England and France, as one veteran remembers: ‘We lost a hell of a lot of good men’Rishi Sunak’s election campaigning and King Charles’s convalescence from cancer will be put on hold for 48 hours, as the two men join veterans to mark the 80th anniversary of D-day on the south coast of England and in Normandy.Two days of events at the ports where allied troops embarked for their perilous journey, and on the French beaches from where they
  
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• King Charles and Rishi Sunak join veterans for 80th anniversary of D-day

  05-06-2024 06:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Two days of events will be held in England and France, as one veteran remembers: ‘We lost a hell of a lot of good men’Rishi Sunak’s election campaigning and King Charles’s convalescence from cancer will be put on hold for 48 hours, as the two men join veterans to mark the 80th anniversary of D-day on the south coast of England and in Normandy.Two days of events at the ports where allied troops embarked for their perilous journey, and on the French beaches from where they
  
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• Ex-Royal Marines reservist held in Dubai on spying charges

  04-06-2024 22:59 via theguardian.com
  
  Former lance corporal Matt Croucher was arrested seven months ago, accused of ‘illegally accessing telecommunications’A former Royal Marines reservist awarded the highest medal for gallantry has reportedly been held in Dubai since November after being accused of spying.The former lance corporal Matt Croucher, 40, was awarded the George Cross, which ranks alongside the Victoria Cross as the highest decoration for acts of bravery, in 2008 after risking his life and saving others by thr
  
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• Ex-Royal Marine reservist with George Cross held in Dubai on spy charge

  04-06-2024 22:59 via theguardian.com
  
  Former lance corporal Matt Croucher was arrested seven months ago accused of ‘illegally accessing telecommunications’A former Royal Marine reservist awarded the highest medal for gallantry has reportedly been held in Dubai since November after being accused of spying.The former lance corporal Matt Croucher, 40, was awarded the George Cross, which ranks alongside the Victoria Cross as the highest decoration for acts of bravery, in 2008 after risking his life and saving others by throw
  
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• Ex-Royal Marine reservist held in Dubai on spying charges

  04-06-2024 22:59 via theguardian.com
  
  Former lance corporal Matt Croucher was arrested seven months ago accused of ‘illegally accessing telecommunications’A former Royal Marine reservist awarded the highest medal for gallantry has reportedly been held in Dubai since November after being accused of spying.The former lance corporal Matt Croucher, 40, was awarded the George Cross, which ranks alongside the Victoria Cross as the highest decoration for acts of bravery, in 2008 after risking his life and saving others by throw
  
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• Three of the horses that bolted across London expected to troop the colour

  04-06-2024 20:22 via theguardian.com
  
  Trojan, Tennyson and Vanquish back on duty and army says ‘against all expectations’ should be at king’s birthday paradeThree military horses that sustained injuries after bolting through central London will probably take part in trooping the colour next week after making a recovery, the army has said.The incident in April resulted in four service personnel being thrown from their horses and five of the animals getting loose, colliding with vehicles including a double-decker bus
  
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• ‘People were ready to move on’: D-day left little mark on key port of Southampton

  04-06-2024 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  ‘Disparate’ 80th anniversary efforts reflect those around UK, where only in recent times have calls for memorials increasedOf the British and Canadian troops who took part in D-day on 6 June 1944, two-thirds set off for the beaches of Normandy from Southampton’s docks.The town on England’s south coast was sealed off by the allies, with permits required in and out, and the civic centre – the first in the country, completed in 1939 in brilliant white Portland stone &n
  
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• Rayner hasn’t ‘changed mind’ on nuclear weapons but backs Labour policy

  03-06-2024 20:40 via theguardian.com
  
  Deputy leader has voted against renewing Trident but says she supports ‘triple lock’ commitment to programme in near termAngela Rayner has said she has not changed her mind about nuclear weapons even though she supports Labour’s policy to keep and renew them.The deputy Labour leader voted against the renewal of Trident in 2016 but said on Monday that she supported Labour’s “triple lock” – a commitment to maintain the UK’s nuclear deterrent round th
  
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• Angela Rayner says she supports Labour policy on nuclear weapons

  03-06-2024 20:40 via theguardian.com
  
  Deputy leader previously voted against renewing Trident but backs ‘triple lock’ commitment to programme in near termAngela Rayner has said she has not changed her mind about nuclear weapons even though she supports Labour’s policy to keep and renew them.The deputy Labour leader voted against the renewal of Trident in 2016 but said on Monday that she supported Labour’s “triple lock” – a commitment to maintain the UK’s nuclear deterrent round the clo
  
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• WWII aircraft grounded for D-day anniversary after fatal Spitfire crash

  31-05-2024 18:06 via theguardian.com
  
  RAF says Battle of Britain flight will not take place because of safety concerns arising from death of pilot Sqn Ldr Mark LongNo second world war aircraft will participate in tribute flypasts marking the 80th anniversary of D-day next week after the crash of a Spitfire in Lincolnshire last week that killed its pilot.The RAF said the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF) would continue to be grounded in its entirety because specialist crash investigators had not yet been unable to establish th
  
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• Houthis say at least 16 killed in UK and US strikes in Yemen

  31-05-2024 15:12 via theguardian.com
  
  Rebel group says strikes, aimed at underground facilities and missile launchers, killed and wounded civiliansIsrael-Gaza war – live updatesA joint US and UK air raid on Houthi missile launchers in Yemen has killed 16 people and injured more than 40, according to the Houthi health ministry.There is no independent way of confirming the death toll, but if accurate it would represent the single largest loss of life since the US and UK started their campaign to degrade the Houthi military in Ja
  
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• Tory national service policy would leave UK’s poorest areas worse off, IFS warns

  29-05-2024 15:52 via theguardian.com
  
  Thinktank says proposal to pay for scheme by scrapping shared prosperity fund would downgrade efforts to level up countryUK politics live – latest updatesRishi Sunak’s election pledge to introduce mandatory national service would leave the UK’s poorest regions millions of pounds worse off, a thinktank has warned.The prime minister announced last weekend that if he was re-elected, every 18-year-old would have to spend time in a competitive, full-time military commission or spend
  
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• MoD sued over allegedly carcinogenic fumes from military helicopters

  29-05-2024 11:56 via theguardian.com
  
  Dozens of aircrew suing as lawyers say three people have died after exposure to toxic fumes, with two helicopters cited still in useThe Ministry of Defence (MoD) is being sued by dozens of aircrew who were allegedly exposed to carcinogenic emissions from military helicopters, some of which are still in service.At least three former helicopter crew members have died from cancer after being exposed to the toxic fumes, lawyers claim, according to a report in the Times. Continue reading...
  
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• MoD sued by aircrew over alleged exposure to carcinogenic helicopter fumes

  29-05-2024 11:56 via theguardian.com
  
  Dozens suing as lawyers say three people have died after exposure to toxic fumes, with two helicopters cited still in useThe Ministry of Defence (MoD) is being sued by dozens of aircrew who were allegedly exposed to carcinogenic emissions from military helicopters, some of which are still in service.At least three former helicopter crew members have died from cancer after being exposed to the toxic fumes, lawyers claim, according to a report in the Times. Continue reading...
  
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• Kenya begins public hearings into alleged abuses by UK troops

  28-05-2024 20:40 via theguardian.com
  
  British soldiers stationed in Kenya have been accused of rights violations and offences including murderKenya has launched public hearings into allegations of human rights violations and abuses of power by British troops based in the former colony.The British Army Training Unit Kenya (BATUK) is an economic lifeline for many in the central town of Nanyuki, where it maintains a permanent base, but soldiers stationed there have also been accused of committing offences including murder. Continue rea
  
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• Our schools don’t prepare young people for life. National service could change that | Simon Jenkins

  28-05-2024 09:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Forget the military, but working under supervision in the NHS, care sector or for a charity could be hugely beneficial for manyRishi Sunak’s reinvention of national service is a desperate, last-minute election gimmick. But that does not make it a bad idea. If there is one phase in education across Britain that is way off course, it is the higher teens. Sixth-form, higher and further education are deeply reactionary, more plagued than ever by introverted academic syllabuses and obsessive te
  
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• Sunak struggles to control Tory party on chaotic fifth day of election campaign

  27-05-2024 21:17 via theguardian.com
  
  Prime minister campaigns in Buckinghamshire as his military service plan is criticised and MP defects to ReformRishi Sunak struggled to keep control of his fractured party on a chaotic fifth day of the Tory election campaign, as one MP defected to Reform and a minister criticised the prime minister’s pledge to bring back national service.Sunak was in Buckinghamshire as he sought to get back on the front foot after a bruising start to the snap election, with Tory insiders increasingly worri
  
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• RAF grounds Spitfire fleet after death of pilot in Battle of Britain air display

  27-05-2024 19:46 via theguardian.com
  
  Announcement raises questions about aircraft’s participation in national D-day event in PortsmouthThe RAF has grounded a fleet of Spitfire planes after the death of a pilot over the weekend, raising the prospect of the legendary aircraft being absent from the 80th anniversary of the D-day landings next month.Sqn Ldr Mark Long – a Typhoon pilot based at RAF Coningsby – was killed in a crash while flying a Spitfire belonging to the Battle of Britain Memorial Fleet as part of a me
  
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