Britain needs to spend more on the armed forces to respond to future threats, a senior military leader has warned.

Sir Gordon Messenger, who is vice chief of the Defence Staff, says the country needs to be prepared for a ‘deterioration in the international arena’ within the next ten to 15 years.

The 55-year-old senior Royal Marines officer warned that further funding was vital in order to combat new technologies and weapons being developed by states such as Russia.

UK Vice Chief of the Defence Staff General Sir Gordon Messenger said a bigger defence budget is needed (PA/Stefan Rousseau)

‘Defence affordability is not something we should shy away from,’ General Messenger told The Times last night. ‘We should be making the case for a bigger defence budget in order to respond to those types of threats that are changing all of the time.

‘What I am not suggesting is that we are about to descend into world war any moment now, but I do think there are activities going on that need to be countered.’

General Messenger pointed to aggressive cyberattacks from Russia and said North Korea’s nuclear ambitions were a ‘global security issue.’

The 55-year-old senior Royal Marines officer warned that further funding was vital in order to combat new technologies and weapons being developed by states such as Russia (stock image above)

And he signalled that the Ministry of Defence could not develop the weaponries required to keep the country safe without further investment.

Citing the threat from rogue states and terror groups, he added: ‘There is a duty for us, as a key influential nation to have capabilities that counter it, deter against it and from a national perspective defend ourselves and our allies against it.

‘There are capabilities being produced by those states that don’t see the world in the way that we do, that could do us harm.’

Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson has allowed military chiefs and junior ministers to press for more defence spending over the next few months.