The former head of MI6 warned that Britain needed to re-armor and build up reserves through a form of national service to prevent Vladimir Putin from dominant Eastern Europe and destruction of Western hopes.
Sir Alex Younger said people in Britain must realize that the Russian threat and its close relationship with the United States are real, adding: “Putin and Trump are working together to convince us that the rules have changed.”
He told him whether he reflected on whether Britain had a total war wine. Independent TV: “I worry – we consciously disarm our military. We have largely removed our military and industrial bases, which is a big problem.
“For years, we have completely lost any existential threat of any kind.
“We are very organized…initiating a series of preferred wars that unnecessarily sacrifice young people and are extremely cynical about the idea of this collective effort to defend your country.
“I think like the English football team, we’re more comfortable thinking about the army; they go there to do things, we watch it on TV – and that doesn’t happen anymore.”
Watch the full episode of the conversation: Transfer Alliance with Sam Kiley, Alex Younger and Rachel Ellehuus here.
Sir Alex Younger, former head of MI6, said: “For many years, we have completely lost any existential threat of any kind” (independent)
Sir Alex, known as “C” during his tenure as the Chief of the Spies, added: “You have to ask the soldiers about the actual efficacy such as recruitment. I don’t know… I know it just needs to be a more integrated feature of everyday life.
“I think that would bring a broader benefit. So, I think it might be more about the more creative and broader concept of reserves.”
Sir Alex, a computer science graduate and former Scottish Guard official, responded to the establishment of Britain clearly in response to the question that Trump could work for Russia after publicly supporting Putin, a past allegation against the U.S. president without any evidence.
“I mean, who knows? I personally don’t think he’s a Russian agent. I’m going to do my best to find it, because why do you know? So I don’t know.
“In a sense, this is not the point. The point is that he agrees with Vladimir Putin. He agrees that the big powers have gained additional rights to small powers, especially in their own backyard.”
When asked publicly whether the U.S. president can become a Russian agent, it is impossible to answer with a political shrug.
In episode 1 dialogueformer NATO envoy, Dr. Rachel Ellehuus, Rachel Ellehuus, and Sir Alex, said the former envoy of the U.S. Secretary of Defense, Alex, said the UK lags behind other European countries by its ability and willingness to defend itself.
“It really depends on how close you are to Moscow. I think in Finland, it’s very well understood and there is a properly integrated resilient culture where everyone is used to playing their role. I think it’s not right that we go to Portugal on the other end – in a sense, it’s understandable.
“I think Britain is also very conflicted. We already have this amazing history, which makes people imagine Britain playing a more active role, but I also think here, people are really worried about being asked to be asked to actually do something.”
Keir Starmer spoke while visiting the military base, met with planners, drawing the next steps in Northwood Alliance in Northwood, London on March 20, 2025 (AP)
He means to contribute a large number of people to fight, while also understanding that a hybrid war with Russia (in those cases, cyberattacks and economic pressures are just as important) is already underway.
Now, Dr. Ellehuus, Director General of the Royal Joint Services Institute of Security, has raised the threat that European countries are desperate to deal with.
This threat has intensified after a sudden change in Washington’s strategic ideology under Trump.
Since the inauguration, Trump said Europe must pay for its own safety. He also said that he no longer saw the NATO alliance provide Western security for 80 years, which is useful.
He threatened to colonize Canada and Greenland. He also supports at least one-fifth of Putin’s claims and agrees that it may be “not a country.”
Dr. Ellehuus, an American, said that despite the persistent threat posed by the Kremlin, Washington’s huge shift was the biggest strategic shock.
Dr Rachel Ellehuus, Director General of the Royal Joint Service Academy, said Putin is trying to remake a map of Europe (independence)
She said: “Yes, the galvanized moment in Europe.
“President Putin is trying to re-draw the map. At the end of the Cold War, some changes in Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova were put in a danger, not part of the Soviet Union, but part of NATO or the European Union.
“[It] He created an opportunity for him to cut the edges of these countries and create pockets of instability or insecurity to prevent them from being fully integrated into NATO or the EU.
“I mean he is going to invade the Baltic state tomorrow or Poland? I’m not. But he yes To test the boundary of what we call Article 5, this is an attack on NATO allies, an attack on everyone.
“He has pushed this boundary through threshold activity for unconventional attacks.”
Last year, Russia’s unconventional attacks on Europe increased by 300%, i.e. 2023-2024, according to the Washington Center for Strategic and International Studies.
“Roughly 27 percent of the attacks were against transportation targets (such as trains, vehicles, and airplanes), another 27 per cent were against government targets (such as military bases and officials), 21 percent were against critical infrastructure targets (such as pipelines, undersea fiber-optic cables, and the electricity grid), and 21 percent were against industry (such as defense companies),” the CSIS said in a report last month.
Russia’s unconventional attacks on Europe increased by 300% last year, according to the Washington Center for Strategic and International Studies (EPA)
Sir Alex said Trump, Putin and China’s Xi Jinping appear to be carving the world into areas of influence that will wipe out the notion of national sovereignty in places like Europe.
Most importantly, the United States is now facing a long-standing issue of trust. In terms of military doctrine, as shown in Article 5 of NATO, in the five-eye intelligence sharing system between the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
Trust between the United States and Trump’s allies was tense when Sir Alex was in charge of MI6 after Trump blurted out and secret intelligence from Russian Foreign Secretary Sergei Lavrov.
The recent signal news group scandal has also seriously damaged it.
Sir Alex suggested that the U.S. president’s decision to rule inexperienced leaders as top intelligence work.
“Whatever you think about this, it’s a price to pay based on a basic understanding of the environment in which we all operate and the threats that exist.
“On the surface, it’s unwise to plan an attack that you don’t want your enemies to know.”
Donald Trump chats with Vladimir Putin when he attends the APEC Economic Leaders Conference in November 2017 (Sputnik/AFP via Getty Images)
Dr. Ellehuus said using personal phones for top-level confidential communications is impossible to release.
These communications are usually done through secure video links, as they involve not only our (or UK) personnel, but also forces and intelligence personnel who may face local risks.
Sir Alex said that whether it is the pressure and new risks the Trump administration has brought to Western intelligence agencies now, CIA officials will “died in the ditch” to protect their human resources.
“It’s a very unusual moment. But, in defending the integrity of our capabilities, all I’m talking about is five [eyes]even if I can’t devalue the idea that it’s more risky than before, there will be a very, very powerful machine to preserve integrity. ”
