A fierce warning from Britain's defence secretary to Vladimir Putin to turn his spy ship away from UK waters or face the consequences was a very public attempt to deter the threat.

But unless John Healey backs his rhetoric up with a far more urgent push to rearm - and to rebuild wider national resilience - he risks his words ringing as hollow as his military .

The defence secretary on Wednesday repeated government plans to increase defence spending and work with NATO allies to bolster European security.

Image: Russian Ship Yantar transiting through the English Channel. File pic: MOD

Instead of focusing purely on the threat, he also stressed how plans to buy weapons and build arms factories will create jobs and economic growth .

In a sign of the government's priorities, j

See Full Page