The British Army has reportedly been told to stop training personnel as financial pressures put the military under strain.
Units which are in the UK and are not preparing for specific deployment were ordered to halt “collective training”, it is understood.
Training with Challenger 2 tanks and Apache gunships are among those being cancelled, according to reports in The Times.
It comes as Andy Burnham is under pressure to increase defence spending from 2.5 per cent of national income next year.
During Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, the chair of the Commons Defence Select Committee, Labour’s Tan Singh Dhesi, stressed the importance of investing in the armed forces and urged Burnham to commit to reaching three per cent spend by 2030.
To cheers among the Commons, he said: “Indeed, defence is definitely one area where vibes alone just isn’t going to be enough.”
Mr Dhesi told The Independent the UK “should be under no illusion that we face a significantly higher threat level, so rather than be sorry later, we must properly invest in our defence now”.
One military source described the order to cease training as “absolutely devastating”, adding: “Armies train, that is what they do. Now nothing is going to happen.”
The pause is expected to last until the end of the year.
Defence spending became a crucial topic and the nail in the coffin of Sir Keir Starmer’s premiership, after he failed to secure adequate funding for the government’s defence investment plan (DIP).
The decision led to the shock resignation of former defence secretary, Sir John Healey, and armed forces minister Al Carns.
News of the order to stop certain units from training lands as Donald Trump suggested he would not back Britain if Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands, in retaliation for the UK’s stance on the Iran war.
“Your country was not there to help me,” he told GB News on Thursday, just days after he said he was reviewing the United States’ position on British sovereignty over the islands.
Argentina’s president, Javier Milei, issued a fresh warning to the UK over the islands, saying his country would defend its interests “with tooth and nail, no matter who it bothers”.
The Russian president has also issued a veiled threat against UK targets over its support for Ukraine.
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch outlined on Thursday her party’s plans to raise £10bn a year for defence spending, largely through sweeping welfare cuts.
She warned hostile states, such as Russia, are “constantly pushing the boundaries” and said the UK needed to be strong to protect itself.
The Ministry of Defence has been approached for comment.
