Gavin Williamson said that Britain will not be safe until there is more investment in national security

The threat to Britain from states such as Russia and North Korea is greater than that posed by terrorism, the defence secretary said yesterday, marking a significant shift in security policy.

Gavin Williamson suggested to MPs that more money and a change in the structure of the armed forces would be needed as part of a defence review to meet the challenge of a state-on-state conflict, something that Britain has not had to consider for a generation.

He warned that failure to act would leave the country “a lot less safe than it should be”, telling the defence select committee: “We would highlight state-based threats as the top priority and . . . the speed with which they are escalating. But within a hair [breadth]