Crippling cuts to defence spending have left Britain unable to defend itself or stand up to Russia , according to the former head of the Army . General Sir Peter Wall said the 'consequences ' of the squeeze on funding is now 'playing out ' in the UK 's approach to dealing with Vladimir Putin . He joins a growing chorus of criticism of the refusal by any of the main parties to protect defence spending from cuts after the election , despite a pledge to increase foreign aid budgets being enshrined in law . General Sir Peter Wall said the 'consequences ' of the squeeze on funding is now 'playing out ' in the UK 's approach to dealing with Vladimir Putin . A defence think tank has warned that up to 30,000 members of the forces face redundancy over the next parliament . David Cameron has repeatedly refused to pledge that funding for the military will be kept above the Nato target of at least 2 per cent of GDP . The 2013-14 defence budget was £34.3billion , down from £35.9billion in 2010-11 , when the coalition took over . Sir Peter , who retired as head of the army last summer , warned the West has been 'caught napping ' amid increasing threats from the Russian Federation and Islamic State . He criticised the 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review ( SDSR ) and said funding reductions were based on the assumption that there would be a 'reasonably benign security environment for this decade ' following the drawdown of combat troops from Afghanistan . 'It was acknowledged that we would have less capability in an unexpected crisis than we would wish , and our political choices would be constrained , ' he told the Daily Telegraph . 'We can now see those consequences playing out in our reticence to counter Russian expansionism , and her interference in our airspace and offshore waters . ' Sir Peter called on the Government to meet the Nato target of spending 2 per cent of national income on defence . He wrote : 'In an era of moral and physical disarmament the West has been caught napping . ' It comes after a report by the Royal United Services Institute ( Rusi ) said it was inevitable that Britain 's defence spending would drop below the Nato target in the face of continuing austerity cuts . Up to 30,000 service personnel could go - with the Army likely to bear the heaviest cuts - leaving the armed forces with a combined strength of just 115,000 by the end of the decade , it predicted . Prime Minister David Cameron is under growing pressure from Tory MPs and peers to make a manifesto commitment to the target to spend 2 per cent of GDP on defence . Prime Minister David Cameron is under growing pressure from Tory MPs and peers to make a manifesto commitment to the target . The leadership is braced for significant criticism over its position when a backbench business motion comes before the Commons on Thursday . Nick Clegg has claimed Mr Cameron will fail to spend 2 per cent of GDP on defence because he is ideologically wedded to shrinking the state . Labour has also refused to commit to the figure , with the party 's Treasury spokesman , Chris Leslie , telling the BBC : ' I know it will be difficult to keep that level of 2 per cent of GDP , but I can tell you it is absolutely impossible under the Conservative trajectory . '
Sir Peter Wall says consequences of budget cuts are now 'playing out ' Russia is reluctant to face up to UK incursions into airspace and waters . Joins chorus of criticism of the impact of spending cuts on the military . Cameron under pressure to commit 2 % of GDP to defence under UN target .