The greatest threat facing Britain may soon be the US but the establishment won't recognise it | Andy Beckett

"One of the things that the depleted, often denigrated British state is still pretty good at is persuading the public that another country is a threat. As a small, warlike island next to a much larger land mass, Britain has had centuries of practice at cultivating its own sense of foreboding. Arguably, preparing for conflict with some part of the outside world is our natural mindset."

"Last month the head of the UK's armed forces, Richard Knighton, gave a widely publicised lecture warning that the [national security] situation is more dangerous than I have known during my career, which began during the cold war in 1988. It needs a whole of nation response, he continued, a sense of national pride and purpose that has characterised our nation in times of conflict. To an increasing number of our senior military, intelligence and political figures, Britain is already in an undeclared war."

"Since the end of the second world war, according to the British security state, our most likely enemy has usually been Russia. Its invasion of Ukraine has prompted that message to be disseminated once again. Whether under the sea, in the sky, on land or in digital space, the biggest threat to this country, it is widely assumed, comes from the east."

Britain habitually frames external countries as threats, drawing on a long history as a small, warlike island near larger land masses. Political leaders, intelligence agencies, civil servants, serving and retired military officers, thinktanks and journalists circulate warnings, sometimes via off-the-record briefings. Senior military warnings, including a public lecture by Richard Knighton, argue that the national security situation is unusually dangerous and requires a whole-of-nation response and renewed national pride. Many officials now view Britain as in an undeclared war, though the adversary is unclear. Historically Russia has been portrayed as the primary threat; growing US unpredictability challenges that singular focus.

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