UK forces ‘will have to enlist help of private companies’

Defence cuts mean British military commanders will have to rely on private security firms to carry out future operations, a retired general has said.

Major-General Graham Binns said the Ministry of Defence appeared more “reticent” about using armed contractors to support missions than other countries and other Whitehall departments.

He called on the government to introduce a system for selecting and vetting a number of approved private security companies, which would be required to train regularly with troops.

Maj-Gen Binns, who commanded coalition forces in southern Iraq from mid-2007 to early 2008, is chief executive of British private security company Aegis Defence Services.

He suggested that private security contractors (PSCs) would become an integral part of the forces deployed on operations.

“Given the current economic climate and future force structures, it is likely that commanders of future military operations of whatever type will encounter PSCs,” he said.

“Given the current size and structure of UK forces, it is inevitable that any future expeditionary deployment will require contractor support in many areas.

“PSCs may well come to feature as part of the force structure, as there are many combat-support functions that can be fulfilled by PSCs, thus releasing troops for other duties.”