‘We could potentially be setting the UK forces up for a long-term sustained conflict' - South Shropshire MP voices concern over PM’s ‘boots on the ground’ plan for Ukraine
A Shropshire MP and former serviceman has voiced his concerns over the government’s plan to put UK troops on ground in Ukraine to support a peace plan.
A decision on whether troops will be deployed to Ukraine in the event of a peace deal would be put to a vote, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer told MPs on Wednesday.
The UK and France have committed to training Ukrainian troops and protecting stocks of weaponry in a joint agreement, signed in Paris on Tuesday.
But South Shropshire Conservative MP Stuart Anderson, who served in the army, said he has “serious concerns about the commitment to put British troops on the ground”.
Speaking in the Commons on Wednesday, Mr Anderson told Defence Secretary John Healey: “I do not believe we have learned enough lessons of how to pull troops out of locations on some of those deployments I’ve been on.
“We could potentially be setting the UK forces up for a long-term sustained conflict or peacekeeping over in Russia where we don’t have the resources to do that sustainably.”
Mr Healey replied: “That is exactly why the Prime Minister has said and confirmed today that in the circumstances of any decision to deploy UK troops into Ukraine as part of the leadership and commanding of the multinational force for Ukraine, this House will have the chance to debate that, it will have the chance to vote on it.”
