Defence Minister Grant Shapps Publishes Video Warning Of Looming Global War

Defence Secretary Grant Shapps declared that the world was in a “pre-war” phase in warnings of a looming global conflict, declaring the “era of the peace dividend is over.”

In a video uploaded to X, Shapps layered a speech delivered at Lancaster House with dramatic music as he said that Britain must brace for potential wars with major global powers.

“We find ourselves at the dawn of this new era – the Berlin Wall a distant memory – and we’ve come full circle, moving from a post-war to pre-war world,” said Shapps. “All around us our enemies are preparing.”

He continued: “In five years’ time we could be looking at multiple theatres including Russia, China, Iran and North Korea. Ask yourself, looking at today’s conflicts across the world, is it more likely that that number grows or reduces? I suspect we all know the answer. It’s likely to grow, so 2024 must mark an inflection point.”

The Defence Secretary drew attention to the recent military operations in the Red Sea region, where UK and US forces have conducted airstrikes against the Houthi militia in Yemen, following their repeated assaults on commercial shipping.

Shapps’ speech also touched on the complex relationship between Iran and the Houthis, with Iran accused of being the puppet master behind the militia’s actions. This claim, however, faces scepticism from senior American and British officials who acknowledge a more nuanced dynamic, with the Houthis maintaining significant autonomy.

The minister, outlined the urgent need for increased defence spending, emphasised the criticality of NATO members bolstering their military budgets to at least 2% of their GDP.

Shapps said: “We made the critical decision to set out our aspiration to reach 2.5 per cent of GDP on defence, and as we stabilise and grow this economy, we’ll continue to strive to reach that as soon as possible. But now is the time for all allied and democratic nations across the world to do the same thing and ensure their defence spending is growing too.”