The US should remember the UK has unique intelligence capabilities
20 March 2025: Defence Secretary John Healey and Prime Minister Keir Starmer visit the Permanent Joint Headquarters, Northwood
4 min read
Many in the intelligence community will have been shaken by the accidental sharing of sensitive military information by Trump's advisers
“We’re bound by reality. The strength of America’s allies is vital to the United States, and the American security guarantee is essential to the continued freedom of Europe’s democracies. We were with you then; we are with you now. Your hopes are our hopes, and your destiny is our destiny.”
Ronald Reagan’s words on the 40th anniversary of D-Day, which rang so clearly for decades now, strike a different note following the return of Donald Trump to the White House. The reality Reagan spoke about is no more. Order and certainty are threatened by the rise of the strong-man notion of politics. The traditional arts of diplomacy have been replaced by transactional deals. Nothing we have taken for granted for generations appears to be off limits. So, where does this leave the UK and Europe?
Defence and security expenditure is going to have to rise, and not just by the increase recently announced. The government is going to have to level with the British public about what this means in terms of the priorities for spending. The uplift to 2.5 per cent of GDP is just the start. In the current climate, three per cent appears to be the direction of travel, not just at some time in the next parliament but by the end of the decade. The same will be needed by our European allies if we are to meet the threats we face without the certainty of US support.
The strategic defence review currently underway promises to reset the UK’s defence posture to meet the challenges of this new world. The increase in defence spending will help, but we also need a fundamental change in the way we think about our defence and the pace at which we make decisions. Policy will have to weave together our defence and intelligence assets, along with diplomatic and soft power assets, to protect our national interests and those of our allies who support them.
All members of the ‘Five Eyes’ group bring unique capabilities to the table
Procurement will have to be agile, and our armed forces are going to match the strengths of their traditional structures with the ability to rapidly respond to change. Partnering and burden-sharing with our European allies is going to be vital. It has been evident for years – but ignored by successive governments – that the UK military cannot do everything. We need to be honest about this, although it will be a difficult sell.
A failure to do so would waste the opportunity to maximise the UK’s effort to protect itself and Europe. Even if there is a peace agreement in Ukraine, this will not end the threat from Russia. The UK is going to have to enter into and work with its European Nato allies to develop a partnership to defend Europe from Russian aggression. This is not about a European army or joining a separate EU defence structure but making sure within Nato we have the capability to defend Europe. As a result of this, the UK will need to be realistic about our global military footprint, and to prioritise our commitment to the defence of Europe.
And then there are our intelligence capabilities. Our partnership with the US has been beneficial to both sides. Indeed, all members of the ‘Five Eyes’ group bring unique capabilities to the table. The accidental sharing of sensitive information around the recent US operation against the Houthis will have shaken many in the intelligence community.
There is already unease around US policy changes on Russia putting the partnership under strain, and this will likely only grow. Cool and calm heads are needed here because a reduction in the effective intelligence sharing can only be detrimental – to both the US and the UK.
In this new world we are also going to remake the case for the democratic values we have taken for granted since the Second World War.
Calmly, patiently, but with dogged determination we must work with like-minded allies – call it a coalition of the willing – to make the case that our hard-won freedoms must again be defended. As Reagan said, it is our shared destiny.
Lord Beamish is a Labour peer and former defence minister
