Anthony Webber
Political Strategist and Campaigner, Commentator, Broadcaster and Writer
Will the Budget close the UK’s Self-Imposed Security Breach?
Ignoring this breach is costing upwards of £47 billion per annum in real terms, plus economic and other damage.
(The cost of the haste to net zero policies and immigration costs are already reasonably well understood.)
In the lead up to the Budget, there have been plenty of opinions given about Budget options, but curiously they have all avoided the most obvious option of all.
In fact, it is worse because the mainstream media have generally excluded any discussion on this matter, yet it is one of vital national interests.
The option which needs addressing in the Budget is that of changing the disastrous Ukraine/Russia policies.
These financially and economically costly policies have run from February 2022 ( the start of Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine) yet have received no serious scrutiny as to whether they served British interests. It is as if no one has the courage to speak up when it has been their public duty to do so.
This happened with covid, when close to £500 billion was spent on this crisis, yet in retrospect most expenditure was not necessary. This overspend happened because there was a climate of fear where politicians were too timid to insist on the proper scrutiny at the time. This is now happening with the economic costs of the Ukraine/Russia policies. The politicians again are in fear, this time due to worries about being accused of being “Putin propagandists” or similar. This is so wrong, it is not siding with any other country if you insist on your own country’s interests being put first. Yet to protect this crazy policy, the British public has been subjected to a barrage of propaganda of attacking Putin’s Russia and promoting Zelensky’s Ukraine. The reality is that this involvement in this conflict is not in British national interests, and that it has always been in the UK’s interests to act as neutral peacemakers, not to promote the war on behalf of one side.
The comments of Field Marshall Lord Richards, who was a former Chief of Defence Staff, said in the Independent on 19th October 2025, that it was not in our vital national interests to be involved with Ukraine. He also said that Ukraine could not win against Russia even with the right resources. This is significant because this should be a major reason to choose the option of ending UK involvement with this conflict.
There is not the world support needed to make the UK government’s policies on Ukraine/Russia work.
The government maintains that the world supports their point of view, yet this is simply not true. There is a group of mainly EU/NATO countries which take Ukraine’s side, but certainly several of these countries recently have demanded an end to the drain on the financial and other costs to them. As for the rest of the world, they largely take a neutral stance and whilst major countries in Africa, South America and Asia continue to trade with Russia, it is clear this policy is not only not working but is working against the UK.
So far the real costs to the British taxpayer have been in the region of £47 billion per annum,( annual military and other aid to Ukraine plus costs of energy and costs of living support to UK public). No MP who believes in the national interests should tolerate this, when Russia has consistently stated it has no aggressive intentions towards NATO, the EU or to the UK. The government’s policies on Ukraine/Russia have been a major blunder. The consequences are far reaching but they are a self-imposed national security breach. There has been a national security breach in several areas:
National Security.
The government’s “Ukraine First” defence and security policies have left less money and resources for other areas of national security. The training of 60,000 plus Ukrainian troops in the UK have affected the training programmes of British troops. The same applies with Air Force and Royal Navy resources which are allocated to Ukrainian purposes.
There are fewer resources to patrol and protect the UK’s borders, which has meant the UK becoming insecure because of lack of control as to who enters the country.
It has meant less resources to deal with real terrorism threats and increasing violence, which continues unabated in the UK..
National Defence/Security of defence assets and personnel.
The UK generally is poorly defended and this has been self-imposed, with a lack of will to provide the resources.
Military personnel and assets are very vulnerable at home and overseas because of risky foreign and defence policy decisions.
The security of the UK and its overseas territories should be the first priority, but they are not. At present Ukraine’s security needs are prioritised over our own.
Terrorism Security
The Ukraine/Russia conflict has seen approximately 1.6 million Ukrainian and 143,000 Russian casualties.
The exact figures are not known, and they could be more, but they are grotesque.
Many people on both sides will view the UK as having been complicit in this, especially in prolonging the conflict.
This will cause resentment for many years to come. In extreme cases there could be the risk of terrorism on UK soil.
Economic Security.
It is true that this is affected by other factors such as world tariffs, net zero policies and more.
However, it is affected by foreign policies which endanger economic security such as those on Ukraine and Russia.
The whole emphasis on supporting Ukraine has had a major economic impact on the UK. The UK has lost $70 billion worth of business with Russia. The UK is having to pay more for its energy costs, and these increased costs have been for businesses and ordinary people alike.
Financial Security.
This is affected by other factors, such as those mentioned, but overspending on the covid crisis by £400-£500 bn did not help.
The Ukraine financing of approximately £7bn a year is a massive drain on the public purse. The expenditure could be more than the government has admitted.
It has contributed to increases in taxes, reductions in benefits, and curtailing of public services. These things would not be happening if the Ukraine/Russia policies were changed.
Energy Security.
The self-imposed sanctions against Russia have massively increased energy costs.
So much so that the government used public money to give financial support to many of those affected. However, there is less help this year and businesses and the public are being told to shoulder this burden as the price to pay for supporting Ukraine “as long as it takes.”
This has cost at least £44bn and continues to increase.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/40bn-spent-protecting-families-and-businesses-from-energy-costs
Russia is happy to trade with the UK, but the UK is obtaining supplies at inflated rates from or via other countries.
Cost of living Security.
This has all had a huge effect on the cost of living, which again the government has imposed on their public. It is unfair for the government to unnecessarily get involved in a conflict which has such a huge effect on increasing the living costs the public have to pay.
The government assistance to the public in 2022-24 cost £34bn. All unnecessary, yet it continues.
If the UK ended sanctions against Russia and became neutral, there would be a major reduction in the cost of living and energy.
Security of tax and service levels.
This has also affected the security of having a stable tax system, as well as reliable local and national services.
The UK is in a mess and need not be.
Security of access to Ukrainian and Russia minerals and resources
The UK government had a more secure approach at the end of the Soviet Union and the new Russia.
At that time there was not only talk about world peace and disarmament, but trade with both Russia and Ukraine.
There were numerous Royal Visits to Russia and President Putin was a guest at Buckingham Palace.
By changing that approach to one of taking sides and being antagonistic towards Russia, the UK government has risked trade with both countries.
Even though the UK has a 100 year partnership agreement with Ukraine, it could amount to nothing.
Reputational and world status Security
The UK has suffered reputational damage because of its reckless and double standards Ukraine policies.
The UK has had its world status diminished by self-imposed policies.
Peace- and peace-making security breached.
Following on from that, the UK has lost so much trust and integrity.
This is made worse by the fact that the UK government is complicit in the loss of hundreds of thousands of lives in Ukraine.
The UK government has become not highly regarded and therefore the security of dealing with the UK has been diminished.
It is therefore difficult to be considered a secure and reliable peacemaker.
The UK has been seen as a country which promoted the Ukraine conflict, and which prolonged it unnecessarily. The government have continued to do this and not support the recent peace initiative of USA President Donald Trump. This decision is very costly to the British public. The decision to become involved in Ukraine on one side ,by all three mainstream political parties, without any mandate from the British people. Therefore, if the government is not prepared to end this policy, it should be put to a referendum of the British public. If the public are to be told to suffer longer economically, then their mandate must be obtained.
The governments’ self-imposed security breach is in respect of frozen Russian assets.
The government has frozen £25 bn worth of Russian assets alongside a number of other countries.
The idea is to use this money or the interest from it to pay for the damage caused by Russia in Ukraine.
Russia has said this is complete lawlessness and would hurt those countries if it continued.
What other nations in the world think is that the UK is turning the international finance system into a weapon of war.
This self-imposed action has breached the security of holding funds and assets in the UK.
There are many legal arguments for and against this action, but it does not stop the UK being accused of banditry.
It is also one sided and ignores the damage caused by Ukraine in the conflict.
It also assumes that Ukraine will win, and that Russia will have to pay reparations.
Therefore, this self-imposed action makes peace more difficult to achieve.
Clearly, Russia will insist on their assets being unfrozen.
The self-imposed Security breach of encouraging thousands of Ukrainian refugees in the UK:
Brief background
A series of events led up to Russia’s “Special Military Operation” against Ukraine on February 24th 2022.
These events included the UK government being one of those involved in stoking up tensions.
The UK supplied arms and trained Ukrainian soldiers from 2015.
https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN07135/SN07135.pdf
(The UK policy in respect of Ukraine in the lead up to this conflict is a subject on its own, but it all added to consequences/security issues.
So too, is the issue of when and why UK government policy changed from the rapprochement of the Thatcher/Reagan/Gorbachev era).
Start of Ukrainian refugee schemes
It appears that the UK government was fully prepared for Russia’s actions in Ukraine.
This was because the day after the invasion, February 25th a massive increase in sanctions against Russia was announced.
https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-9481/CBP-9481.pdf
https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-9481/
There followed other actions, but one was the Ukrainian refugee schemes which started in March 2022:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/homes-for-ukraine-scheme-launches
The decision to take so many Ukrainian refugees was made despite the fact that the UK was already overcrowded.
The UK already was under strain, with millions of refugees and immigrants from many countries.
It is not surprising that the 2025 UK population is officially projected to be 69.5 million. Will the figure be much higher?
Prior to the Ukraine conflict in 2021, it was 67.03million. The population levels then were unsustainable due to continuing high net immigration.
In 2015 the population was 65.19 million.
In 2010 it was 62.77 million.
In 2005 it was 60.4 million
In 2000 it was 58.89 million.
We now know the government was secretly flying into the UK thousands of Afghans without the knowledge of the British public.
This was on top of Ukrainian refugees..
The government, facilitated this extra stream of refugees coming into the UK knowing that it would place huge pressures on resources:
These, including, on the NHS, Care, housing, education, transport and social services, at a time when they were all at breaking point.
It was not just the cost, approximately £1.2billion for Ukrainian refugees, ( out of £4,3 billion spent on refugees and asylum seekers in the UK).
https://www.nao.org.uk/press-releases/investigation-into-homes-for-ukraine/
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1312602/ukrainian-refugee-cost-by-country/
It was also the security of vital resources being made scarcer to UK citizens by a self-imposed policy.
This is especially so in the NHS:
But all government departments are under strain due to population rises.
Boris Johnson was responsible for Ukrainian refugees coming to the UK
It could be argued that he made a self-imposed security breach in order to self impose his own interests.
This is yet another example of ill-thought-out UK government foreign policy resulting in more refugees coming to an already overcrowded UK.
It is estimated that there are approximately 300,000 Ukrainians in the UK, but it could be more.
The truth is somewhere out there, but with the present and previous governments gagging the facts about the Afghan refugees, how can anyone be sure what the true Ukraine refugee figures are.
Independent figures are as follows, but they largely go by official government figures:
https://migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/resources/briefings/ukrainian-migration-to-the-uk/
However, world recognised statistics revealed below show the figure as being 254,580 as of 31/12/24, but the figures were produced in May 2025 with all the figures for
other countries provided for much more recently. What is the government trying to hide?
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1312584/ukrainian-refugees-by-country/
A research paper from Bristol University stated the Ukrainian arrivals figure from the start of the war to 16/12/24 was 280,000
Figures produced by the government in March 2025 stated a figure of 223,400 Ukrainian refugees.
The government does not want us to know the truth. It is interesting to note that the Defence Secretary who signed the gagging order on Afghan refugees was also responsible for Defence matters regarding Ukraine. Grant Shapps, who got kicked out of office at the General Election, has been unrepentant about keeping the truth from the British public about Afghan refugees. With that sort of attitude, who knows what he kept from the public about Ukraine.
According to official UK census figures, there were approximately 41,000 Ukrainians in the UK in 2021 and about 60,000 Russians .
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1253302/ukraine-population-in-united-kingdom/
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1252978/russian-population-in-united-kingdom/
There are no latest figures for Russians in the UK in 2025, but it is estimated there has been a moderate increase.
In contrast, the Ukrainian figure increased dramatically after the invasion, when the government made it clear Ukrainian refugees would be welcome.
The numbers vastly increased after the end of March /beginning of 2022 when peace talks failed.
This was when former Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, intervened and gave more aid to Ukraine to continue fighting.
It could be argued that he was responsible for this increase in Ukrainian refugees.
This was a self-imposed security breach.
Schemes were so attractive, and so many Ukrainian refugees chose to come to the UK
Free housing was provided for them.
Ukrainians were even told that they would not be subject to the Immigration Health Surcharge, which people on visa normally have to pay.
This would have been an extra incentive for them to come to the UK for free NHS treatment.
They also got free prescriptions, free dentistry, and free eyesight tests
There are also no restrictions on access to public funds for resettled Ukrainians in the UK.
This means they can apply for Universal Credit, Pension Credit and Housing benefit, for example.
There is a strong case to state that they receive much better treatment than many UK citizens .
Better treatment too than citizens of the British Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories, if they want to live in the UK.
There have been several Ukraine refugee schemes:
The Ukraine visa and Extension scheme, which finished in February of this year.
A further visa extension scheme which is still ongoing:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/applying-to-the-ukraine-permission-extension-scheme
The Ukraine Family Scheme, which finished a year ago.
The Homes for Ukrainians scheme, which is still active.
Most of the Ukrainians are in the UK for three years and can apply for an 18-month extension.
At some stage very soon, hard decisions need to be made about what the UK government is going to do about their status.
The majority of Ukrainians do not want to return to Ukraine even when the situation there is normalised.
This is not surprising, as most are so much better off in the UK.
They have the right to work and study in the UK too, being eligible for assistance with their studies.
Most are women and children, as it is men who are eligible for call up who are not allowed to leave Ukraine.
It is difficult to access the exact numbers of Ukrainian refugees now, but recent figures have stated 267,200 were granted visas.
Added to that are 34,000 through the Family and Extension schemes, so it is likely to be over 300,000.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ukraine-family-scheme-application-data/ukraine-family-scheme-and-ukraine-sponsorship-scheme-homes-for-ukraine-visa-data–2https://www.gov.uk/guidance/paying-sponsors-homes-for-ukraine#:~:text=until%201%20April%202025%2C%20lead,Homes%20for%20Ukraine%20visa%20permission.
About a quarter of Ukraine’s population have left their country
Prior to the start of this conflict, Ukraine had a population of about 43.5 million.
It has decreased, with 6.8 million Ukrainian refugees, in mainly European countries, with Russia having the most at 1.2 million.
There are also 3.7 million Ukrainians displaced in their own country.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukrainian_refugee_crisis
https://unric.org/en/ukraine-over-6-million-refugees-spread-across-europe/
There has been a huge human as well as an economic cost of the continuance of this conflict.
The Trump administration has understood this, as they have about 240,000 Ukrainian refugees, whose status is to be decided soon.
It is clearly in the interests of all parties to have a peaceful end to the conflict and for the refugees to return home.
The UK government, instead of procrastinating, should be looking at how to help the Ukrainian refugees in the UK to return to their homeland.
This will mean helping in the reconstruction and rebuilding efforts which are needed, although huge parts of Ukraine have been unaffected by the conflict.
Self-imposed Security breach of allowing so many Ukrainian refugees into the UK.
There has been a fostering of Neo-Nazi influence in Ukraine to the extent of having Azov military units.
There is every possibility of such influences being prevalent among Ukrainian UK refugees.
It seems that the Ukrainian security services operate worldwide and have even been accused of supporting terrorists.
Even with the prospect of the current Ukraine regime being defeated, will these security services carry on operating?
They could be acting on behalf of globalist vested interests.
Self-imposed Security breach of enabling the NATO linked experimental laboratories operating in Ukraine.
The issues too, of organ and child trafficking, of mass corruption in Ukraine.
In other words, the Security breach of turning a blind eye to criminality.
This could expand into the UK when the conflict is over.
Self-imposed Foreign policy too focussed on Ukraine, which breaches Uk Security in so many ways.
In contrast the policy on Afghanistan cost £1bn a year and did not affect so many areas of national security.
Even the policy on Palestine/Israel, where the UK has done little of a constructive nature, has limited breaches of national security compared with Ukraine.
Britain can no longer afford to be the world’s preferred go to location for refugees
https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn01403/
https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN01403/SN01403.pdf
In the year ending September 2024, 52% of asylum seeker applications were granted, an increase of 34% over the previous year.
This was a total of 52,739 people allowed to stay, the size of a town.
More recent figures are here:
There are estimated to be 43.4 million refugees and 120 million displaced people in the world.
https://www.refugeecouncil.org.au/how-many-refugees/
For too long UK politicians have decided that British people must take their “fair share” of such refugees, even when the flow of immigration has reached major crisis point.
There must be a change of political mindset, and the UK now needs to have a few years of no net immigration gains, otherwise the whole system will collapse.
This means a pause of at least five years of all immigration and an active return policy.
Time for change and action: End the self-imposed Security breach and become a peacemaker
The wrong sort of intervention in Afghanistan and Ukraine has caused mass immigration to the UK
Prior to this, intervention in Libya continues to cause mass immigration . These defence/foreign policy blunders must end.
In the meantime, it is essential to end the government’s Ukraine/Russia policies, which have been a disaster in all areas.
To demonstrate the public’s demand for this change, it is important that to promote awareness of this Petition so it can be is signed and shared.
Help is needed as the globalist controlled mainstream media is boycotting this, and this issue does need to be aired.
UK Living standards can rise if the Ukraine/Russia policies are changed
After the disappointing Rachel Reeves Budget there have been many comments made.
What has not been said yet by an MP yet, is that none of the tax rises would be necessary if it wasn’t for the government’s insane support for Ukraine.
It seems that MP’s have been put in such a state of fear, like how they were during the covid era, that they dare not question government policy.
The mishandling of covid cost the British taxpayer approximately £500 billion, which has greatly increased the national debt.
(It is worth remembering that the Second World War debt was only finally paid off in 2006).
Following on from that major blunder, we had the worsening of the mass immigration crisis, which itself is costing the taxpayer billions every year.
( The approximately 300,000 Ukrainian refugees alone are costing £1billion a year).
Added to that we had an over -zealous approach to net zero, which has been an additional cost of about £30 billion.
The issue of Ukraine must be debated
However, with all the ailments which the UK is beset with, it seems that the one issue which cannot be aired is that of Ukraine.
This is a tragedy for British interests because it has never been in the UK’s interests to be involved in that conflict.
Although the establishment have lined up many politicians and others to try to justify UK involvement, this would never stand up to scrutiny.
The problem is that the powers that be do not allow that. They know that any debate would be lost by them, so they simply no platform it.
I have written previously on this, for example:
https://unitynewsnetwork.co.uk/will-the-budget-close-the-uks-self-imposed-security-breach/
Key to this is that when this conflict seriously started in February 2022, the UK should have kept well out of it.
Unfortunately, the then Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, needed a distraction from the leadership crisis he was in, and suddenly he committed the UK’s money and support to Ukraine.
What started as a proxy war has developed into a full-blown military and financial commitment, short of having boots on the ground.
Russia, who were Allies in the two World Wars, have been turned into enemies by a globalist propaganda machine.
Anyone, who stands up for British interests is accused of being a “Putin apologist” or working for the “enemy,” or similar.
British interests are in fact, in not in taking sides, and in being neutral peacemakers.
The reality is that it is those promoting the globalist cause in Ukraine are the ones who should be accused of being traitors and Zelensky warmongers.
They are complicit in the deaths and injuries of between 1 and 2 million military of both sides. It is tragic and grotesque.
What makes it worse is that Ukraine is one of the most corrupt countries in the world and is embroiled in a major corruption scandal involving key government officials very close to Zelensky’s Presidential office.
Ukraine policies are an unacceptable drain on public finances
It is not the responsibility of the British taxpayer to prop up Ukraine or any other country.
Certainly, it is not their role to promote the continuance of the conflict at their cost, when there is no national interest at stake.
The former Chief of Defence staff ,Field Marshall Richards, made this clear in an interview in the Independent in October, which has been buried by other mainstream media.
So far officially the UK has committed close to £25 billion to Ukraine. That is over £7bn a year.
Who knows what the unofficial figures are? The scrutiny of the finances appears to be non-existent.
The Ukraine and Russia policies of this and the previous government have caused economic hardship to the British public.
The rise in energy costs is not the fault of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, as the government maintains, but the results of its own self-inflicted sanctions on Russia which have backfired. Plenty of countries continue to trade with Russia and take energy supplies. Russia is happy to do more trade with the UK.
All the government have done by their policies is to influence energy costs to be 43% higher now than they were in February 2022.
The same with costs of living, which have risen 11% in the same period.
This initially cost the government ( taxpayers) just under £40 billion between October 2022 and March 2023.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-support-to-ukraine-factsheet/uk-support-to-ukraine-factsheet
The support continued to March 2024 and then eased off dramatically to the extent that the public and businesses have largely had to shoulder these excessive costs themselves.
The same with the cost-of-living support, which ended in February 2024 after having cost the government ( taxpayer) £26 billion.
So, the consequences of the Russia/Ukraine policies have been more like about £45 billion a year in total, which is absolute insanity.
In comparison, when the UK was in Afghanistan it was costing £1billion a year and at least there were some logical policy objectives.
With Ukraine, for many politicians and globalists, the conflict is just about bashing Russia and trying to weaken her.
They were not elected for this purpose.
They were elected to put the interests of the British people first.
The knock-on effects of these Ukraine policies have been on jobs, on living standards, people being in debt, reduced government services and higher taxes.
The Budget freeze on Income Tax thresholds will hit millions of workers and pensioners. It will raise about £8 billion.
The ludicrously unfair Mansion Tax, an extension of Council Tax, will raise an estimated £400 million.
However, Council Tax itself raises £40.3 billion.
It seems obvious that if the Ukraine/Russia policies were ended immediately, that none of these tax rises would be needed and Council tax could be abolished.
Also, the welfare budget could still be protected.
So which MP is going to have the courage to raise this issue?
There is still time as MP’s have further debate on the Budget and the Ukraine Russia policies can be ended at any time.