Former British Army colonel issues urgent warning as ‘Britain no longer has a military’

Colonel Tim Collins, who served with the SAS, said military procurement and equipment were in “complete disarray” adding he felt there was a move to “block recruitment by discouraging the majority of the population” in his column for the Telegraph.

He said plans to change entry security checks in order to attract more troops from ethnic minority backgrounds would “make it much easier for our enemies to infiltrate our military”.

Mr Collins also criticised an Air Force email which accused white male pilots of being “useless” saying he thought the military was trying to “demoralise, isolate and shame the undesirables”.

He said the military was trying to attract new recruits who “have no interest whatsoever in joining the military, culturally, for religious reasons or because they are assured that any show of patriotism is a manifestation of white supremacy”.

His column read: “On Saturday night, a number of Emirati officers and a Bahrani officer were, with others, slaughtered at the General Gordon in Mogadishu reportedly by those they sought to train. Security clearance standards had been lowered. The al-Qaeda-linked militant group al-Shabab has since claimed responsibility.

“Ships which have just been refurbished at great expense are being decommissioned.

“The Navy can’t take part in Nato exercises, much less deploy effective assets to the Red Sea to protect our own and international shipping from missile and interception attacks by the Iranian-backed Houthi Rebels because of a lack of sailors.”

The former colonel said what remained of the army was “barely workable” adding that half of its workforce of 72,000 had been “medically downgraded”.

He added: “We effectively have no artillery systems since the AS 90s were given to the Ukrainians along with a lump of the ammo and the new system is not in service. A disastrous defence procurement programme has reportedly seen just 44 of an ordered 589 armoured fighting vehicles delivered to the MoD – a decade after bosses signed the £5.5bn contract.”

But Mr Collins said the RAF was “a glimmer of light” saying he felt they were “confident and focused” under the new leadership of Air Chief Marshal Sir Rich Knighton.

He added that outsourcing recruitment could be responsible for the soldier shortage.

Mr Collins said: “In the Royal Irish we did our own recruitment and with two years were at full strength – with Irishmen.

“Today that is not possible, due to the contract we have with our outsourcing specialist. They have admitted that they will not reach their targets yet again this year and have suggested recruiting people with visible tattoos, hayfever and eczema in their desperation.

“I despair. We are as a nation, defenceless. Over to you Grant Shapps.”