Friday 25 November 2022 03:14 AM British Army is 'only big enough to tootle around at home' so needs proper ... trends now
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Britain's Army is big enough if its only goal is to 'stay at home and tootle around', the UK's Defence Secretary has warned.
Ben Wallace made the comments during a visit to Oslo, Norway this week, adding that the country's armed forces needed to be properly funded.
The government previously pledged to increase military spending to 3 per cent of GDP, but new chancellor Jeremy Hunt has since said the defence budget will not rise before an update on the integrated review of foreign policy.
It comes as the Army is set to shed around 10,000 troops as part of cost-cutting plans approved by ministers last year.
The UK will soon count just 72,500 soldiers, the lowest number since the Napoleonic Wars more than 200 years ago.
And speaking to the Times, Mr Wallace was unable to guarantee that that figure would not fall further.
He said: 'I will guarantee I will design an armed forces to fit the threat and to fit the ambition of the prime minister.
'We get in trouble when governments
