Boris Johnson in pre-Christmas visit to UK troops in Estonia – BBC News, BBC News

        

                                 Image copyright                 Reuters                                                  

Boris Johnson has served Christmas lunch to British troops during a visit to a Nato mission in Estonia on Saturday.

Visiting the Tapa military base near Tallinn, Mr Johnson wished them a merry Christmas as he dished up the meals.

The 2010 British soldiers based there represent the UK’s largest operational deployment in Europe.

Later, Mr Johnson will stress the UK’s commitment to Nato and its defense of Estonia’s eastern border with Russia.

The UK is playing a leading role in the alliance’s Baltic mission.

The troops, from the Queen’s Royal Hussars, head the Nato battle group in Estonia, working alongside the country troops and personnel from France and Denmark.

Mr Johnson will also tour the military base during his trip.

“I’m a big supporter of our armed forces,” said Mr Johnson said from the base. “I think they do a massive amount of good around the world.”

Downing Street said it was an opportunity for him to personally thank them for their service and make clear the government commitment to support those on the frontline “guaranteeing Britain’s security”.

During a four-month deployment earlier this year, a squadron of RAF Typhoon jets were scrambled 56 times to intercept Russian aircraft which had strayed into Estonian airspace.

                                                                                                      Image copyright                 Reuters                                                      

***                                                                                                       Image copyright                 Stefan Rousseau / PA Wire                                                      ***                                                                                                       Image copyright                 Stefan Rousseau                                                      The PM was greeted by his Estonian counterpart Jüri Ratas during the visit. He will stress the role the UK is playing in reassuring its allies and deterring Russian aggression against its Baltic neighbors.

“This year our military efforts in Estonia have been immense,” Mr Johnson said, ahead of the visit.

“So at this time of year we should all take a moment to be thankful for the sacrifices made by our troops, many of whom will be spending Christmas on our deployments and bases around the world – be it the Baltics, Ukraine or Afghanistan – and those in Britain too. “

The UK is one of the few Nato countries that meets the commitment to spend at least 2% of national income on defense.

The armed forces were given an extra £ 2.2bn in September’s spending review when Chancellor Sajid Javid announced a 2.6% increase in defense funding in – 1.

                                                                                                                      But a prolonged squeeze on defense spending between 2019 and 2019 have prompted questions about whether the UK Is adequately equipped to meet future security threats.

In February, the Public Accounts Committee, the House of Commons’ spending watchdog, reported that the MoD faced a £ 7bn black hole in its 330 – year-plan to equip the armed forces.

In a

BBC interview on Thursday,Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said there was a shortfall of funding in the MoD’s budget and confirmed he had recently met with Mr Johnson’s chief adviser Dominic Cummings about improving the way the department spends its money.

Mr Wallace told the BBC’s Political Thinking Podcast that technological advances would change the way the UK bought and built equipment, adding his job was to “manage expectations and say to the [services] chiefs that your appetite has to match your stomach”.

            

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