UK pledges 1,000 troops to Nato

Nato summit: David Cameron pledges troops to ‘multinational’ forceDavid Cameron said Nato “must be able to act more swiftly”

The UK is ready to contribute 1,000 personnel to a new multi-national rapid reaction force, Prime Minister David Cameron has told the Nato summit.

He said a proposed Nato “multinational spearhead force” could be deployed anywhere in two to five days.

Mr Cameron also said leaders were “united in condemnation” of “barbaric and despicable acts” carried out by militant group Islamic State (IS).

He spoke on the second day of the summit in the Welsh city of Newport.

Red Arrows planes were among 22 military aircraft that flew over Newport and Cardiff on Friday morningNato leaders fell silent as the jets passed over the summit venue, Celtic Manor’Instability arc’

“We face new and evolving dangers,” Mr Cameron said.

“To the east, Russia is ripping up the rulebook with its annexation of Crimea and its troops on the sovereign soil of Ukraine.

“To the south, an arc of instability bends from North Africa to the Middle East.”

Mr Cameron and Nato Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen both spoke at the start of the second day

He said Nato “must be able to act more swiftly”.

And he said the UK would contribute 3,500 to the rapid reaction force.

But Downing Street later clarified that the UK would be contributing 1,000 troops to the new force – not 3,500. It said the UK would be contributing 3,500 troops to Nato exercises in eastern Europe over the next two years.

And it said the new “spearhead force” would comprise of 4,000 troops overall, be led by a British general and would be ready to be deployed by the end of 2015.

During his speech, Mr Cameron said of the force: “This would be part of a reformed Nato response force with headquarters in Poland, forward units in the eastern allies and pre-positioned equipment and infrastructure to allow more exercises and, if necessary, rapid reinforcement.”

‘Almost pathological’

Speaking about IS, which has threatened to kill British aid worker David Haines, he said: “They should be very clear these terrorists that their threats will only harden our resolve to stand up for our values and to defeat them.”

Father-of-two David Haines, from Perth, has more than 15 years’ experience with humanitarian agencies

IS made its threat against Mr Haines – who was kidnapped in Syria in March 2013 – in a video of the beheading of US journalist Steven Sotloff.