Britain must prepare for the possibility of a wider European war without American military support, a security academic has warned, calling for an immediate increase in core defence spending to 5 per cent of gross domestic product and a more urgent strategy to counter Russia.
Dr Simon Bennett, director of the Civil Safety and Security Unit at the University of Leicester, argues that the UK can no longer afford to assume Washington will remain a dependable ally under US President Donald Trump.
His intervention raises fundamental questions about Britain’s military preparedness, the future of NATO and the scale of investment required to protect the country against an increasingly hostile security environment.
“Given these facts, we must prepare ourselves to fight alone,” Bennett said in comments issued through the university.
He urged ministers to prioritise military assistance to Ukraine and preparations for a broader European conflict, arguing that the government should stop relying on the assumption that American support will be available when needed.
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“Defence spending must be increased to 5% of Gross Domestic Product immediately,” he said, adding that the British public should be told more plainly about Russia’s campaign of hybrid warfare.
The proposal would represent a substantial acceleration of the government’s existing commitments. Ministers have pledged to spend 3.5 per cent of GDP on core defence by 2035, alongside a further 1.5 per cent on defence-related resilience and infrastructure. Together, those commitments meet NATO’s headline 5 per cent spending framework, but Bennett wants the entire 5 per cent directed towards core defence immediately.
His warning comes amid mounting concern over Russian sabotage, espionage and other hostile activities across Europe. Bennett cited the 2006 poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko with polonium-210 in London and the 2018 Novichok attack in Salisbury, which killed Dawn Sturgess, as evidence of the threats facing Britain.
A British public inquiry concluded that Litvinenko’s killing was probably approved by Vladimir Putin. The UK attributed the Salisbury attack to Russian military intelligence officers.
Bennett also pointed to warnings from the Washington-based Council on Strategic Risks about British vulnerabilities to biological threats.
His call for greater public awareness echoes concerns expressed by senior political figures. Former defence secretary Lord Hutton of Furness has argued that the public must be told the truth about Russian hybrid warfare. Ministers have likewise acknowledged the threat: Louise Sandher-Jones recently said the government knew Russia was conducting a campaign of hybrid attacks and sabotage across Europe.
The government has begun strengthening its public preparedness messaging, including through the Cabinet Office’s Be Ready campaign, which encourages households to prepare to manage without outside assistance for three days.
Yet Bennett believes such measures do not match the scale of the strategic danger. He argues that Britain must reassess its assumptions about the United States and place greater emphasis on European security and Ukraine’s ability to resist Russian aggression.
His assessment of Trump is sharply critical, describing the president as unreliable and arguing that European leaders should resist pressure from Washington rather than compromise their security priorities.
The central question for Britain is whether its existing defence commitments provide sufficient protection against a more dangerous Europe — or whether the government must move faster to rebuild military capacity in an era when American support can no longer be taken for granted.
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