Admirals and Generals Warn Entanglement with EU Military Post-Brexit Will Harm Security

Senior officers of the British Army, Royal Navy, and Royal Air Force have warned that the United Kingdom is being entangled in the European Union’s military integration schemes, and that Theresa May’s proposed Brexit deal with the bloc will undermine national security long into the future.

“At a time when [German Chancellor] Angela Merkel’s party successor is calling for an EU aircraft carrier, we encourage MPs to reflect more carefully on the wider consequences for national security of voting for Theresa May’s ‘deal’ now or in the future,” the retired veterans warn in their open letter, published by the Telegraph.

They point out that the twice-rejected deal currently on the table seeks “as close an affiliation ‘as is possible under EU law’ and, incredibly, UK defence and security would be tied, powerless, under the direction of EU foreign and security policy” if it was passed, undermining the country’s key defence alliances with NATO and others.

The letter may help to bring the issues with Theresa May’s deal into sharper focus for some Brexiteer MPs ahead of a possible third “meaningful vote” on whether or not it should be adopted, with Brexit already having been delayed due to its failure and the possibility of a No Deal exit, referendum re-run, or fresh general election looming if it cannot be forced through Parliament.

Signatories include highly respected figures such as Major-General Julian Thompson, who led 3 Commando Brigade of the Royal Marines during the Falklands War and commanded Britain’s land forces during the initial phase of the islands’ liberation.

The full list of the letter’s signatories, which includes some noted academics alongside the military men, is reproduced below:

Rear-Admiral Roger Lane-Nott

Rear-Admiral Richard Heaslip

Lt-Gen Jonathon Riley

Maj-Gen Julian Thompson

Maj-Gen Malcolm Hunt

Maj-Gen John Drewienkiewicz

Maj-Gen Nick Vaux

Air Vice Marshall Steven Abbott

Col John Hughes-Wilson

Major J G Rees-Davies

Professor Andrew Roberts

Professor Gwythian Prins

Dr Lee Rotherham

Cdre Michael Clapp

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