This week the government issued another Future Partnership paper, this time on Foreign policy and defence. Among other things it says (paragrapoh 34), "The UK has a world class reputation in disaster management and, working with other Member States, helps other nations rapidly build their maturity. The UK also contributes specialist teams to an EU pool of experts that can be deployed to respond to disasters anywhere in the world."
So it must have been a little embarrassing to say the least that The Telegraph (HERE) reports that The Royal Navy can only send a quarter of its warships to sea due to spending cuts which have left the armed forces "struggling to protect Britain's citizens". It says the navy is a "laughing stock".
This is in the same week where Britain's response to the disaster in the Caribbean caused by hurricane Iram has been criticised as too little too late. The flagship HMS Ocean, which was not deployed straightaway in any case, has now been delayed by engine trouble. The French and the Dutch were praised for the way they responded to the emergency and brought relief supplies to their citizens long before us - and we with the "world class reputation in disaster management" as well!
This is one of our most acute and pressing problems. Recognising that we are just a mid-ranking power like France or Germany or Italy or Holland, no better and sometimes worse. If Brexit drives this home we will have made some progress.
