Former armed forces chief Lord Richards said thousands more soldiers are needed . Thousands of extra British troops are needed to fight Islamist extremists around the world, the former head of the armed forces has warned. General Lord Richards said the Government sacked too many soldiers – leaving the Army unable to tackle ISIS and other fanatical groups. He also warned the Prime Minister that it would be a ‘tall order’ for the SAS to hunt down the British killer filmed beheading hostages Alan Henning and David Haines. His remarks came after David Cameron ordered Britain’s spy chiefs to find the ISIS killer known as ‘Jihadi John’ dead or alive. Speaking to the Andrew Marr show this morning, Lord Richards said: ‘Of course all of us in a visceral response to what's happened would like to see that,’ he said. ‘But as good as the SAS are, they are also rightly very cautious and I think to expect them to do that is a tall order and it needs to be part of this grander strategy.’ His remarks came after he attacked the Government’s military cuts, which will see the regular Army cut from 102,000 serving soldiers to just 82,000. The cuts will be partially offset by an increase in the size of the Army Reserve from 19,000 to 30,000. Lord Richards, who stepped down last year, said the present strength was too small to deal with what the Prime Minister has called a ‘generational struggle’ against Islamic extremists. ‘The reservist plan could yet be made to work within two or three years but we are now in a different era,’ Lord Richards told BBC1's Andrew Marr Show. ‘This needs to be put right quickly. If it can be then fine, I will go along with that solution. ‘But my instinct is it can't be and we need to go back to the drawing board and revise the size of the regular Army back up again. ‘If we are talking about a generational struggle, as I think the Prime Minister is and he is absolutely right ... then we need an Army that can sustain a demanding operation not just in Syria and Iraq potentially, in a support role, but think of all the other places where Muslim extremism is causing havoc.' He added: ‘I am thinking Nigeria, Kenya is very fragile, the countries around Syria that need more help like Jordan and obviously Iraq and perhaps Lebanon. And then you go into Afghanistan, Pakistan needs more assistance, even al Qaida leadership I saw talking about creating the same sort of problems in places like Myanmar. ‘We have to see the grand strategic challenge which is confronting us all now and that, I'm afraid, needs a grand strategic response of the type that our forebears dealt with.’ Lord Richards said it was a ‘no-brainer’ that UK operations should extend anti-IS operations from Iraq into Syria. ‘I am very clear that that is the view of the Prime Minister and most of his party. His problem is delivering the politics that allow us to do that,’ he said. He said not enough was being done to train Iraqi and Syrian ground forces to take on IS. ‘You either have to put your own boots on the ground at some point or else you have to very energetically and aggressively train up those who will do that with us and for us. My worry at the moment is that the scale of the challenge isn't being met by the right scale of response. ‘I am worried that without more intensive use of Western boots on the ground in a support role then we won't do it in the time we need to get on and do this in.’ David Cameron praised British soldiers on a surprise visit to Afghanistan last week. But he warned that the struggle against Islamist terror would last a 'generation' But, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said he disagreed with the former army chief’s remarks. He said Britain needed to take the threat from militant groups like IS ‘extremely seriously’, but added this may not necessarily require an increase in conventional forces. ‘How you respond to it is not quite as straightforward as David Richards - much though I respect him - suggests. I don't think it's a question of simply ramping up conventional armed forces again as if we were fighting state-to-state conflicts. ‘Increasingly what you are having is states co-operating together in a jigsaw operation where different countries bring to the effort different capabilities against stateless mobile groups.’ Asked about joining US-led air strikes in Syria, he told Marr: ‘I wouldn't advocate that we extend the air campaign into Syria. ‘It won't come to a vote unless the Government proposes it and the Government is not proposing it right now. ‘We need to persuade the British people and Parliament as well that every time we put servicemen and women in harm's way we do so with a clear strategy in mind, and I think the combination of air strikes and ground forces needs to be properly thought through. ‘That was obvious in Iraq, it's a little more complicated in Syria.’
Government is cutting the Army from 102,000 serving soldiers to just 82,000 .
General Lord Richards said army needs to be increased to tackle ISIS .
He claimed it was a 'no brainer' to launch airstrikes in Syria as well as Iraq .
Also warned  it would be a 'tall order' for the SAS to hunt down 'Jihadi John'
Former armed forces chief Lord Richards said thousands more soldiers are needed . Thousands of extra British troops are needed to fight Islamist extremists around the world, the former head of the armed forces has warned. General Lord Richards said the Government sacked too many soldiers – leaving the Army unable to tackle ISIS and other fanatical groups. He also warned the Prime Minister that it would be a ‘tall order’ for the SAS to hunt down the British killer filmed beheading hostages Alan Henning and David Haines. His remarks came after David Cameron ordered Britain’s spy chiefs to find the ISIS killer known as ‘Jihadi John’ dead or alive. Speaking to the Andrew Marr show this morning, Lord Richards said: ‘Of course all of us in a visceral response to what's happened would like to see that,’ he said. ‘But as good as the SAS are, they are also rightly very cautious and I think to expect them to do that is a tall order and it needs to be part of this grander strategy.’ His remarks came after he attacked the Government’s military cuts, which will see the regular Army cut from 102,000 serving soldiers to just 82,000. The cuts will be partially offset by an increase in the size of the Army Reserve from 19,000 to 30,000. Lord Richards, who stepped down last year, said the present strength was too small to deal with what the Prime Minister has called a ‘generational struggle’ against Islamic extremists. ‘The reservist plan could yet be made to work within two or three years but we are now in a different era,’ Lord Richards told BBC1's Andrew Marr Show. ‘This needs to be put right quickly. If it can be then fine, I will go along with that solution. ‘But my instinct is it can't be and we need to go back to the drawing board and revise the size of the regular Army back up again. ‘If we are talking about a generational struggle, as I think the Prime Minister is and he is absolutely right ... then we need an Army that can sustain a demanding operation not just in Syria and Iraq potentially, in a support role, but think of all the other places where Muslim extremism is causing havoc.' He added: ‘I am thinking Nigeria, Kenya is very fragile, the countries around Syria that need more help like Jordan and obviously Iraq and perhaps Lebanon. And then you go into Afghanistan, Pakistan needs more assistance, even al Qaida leadership I saw talking about creating the same sort of problems in places like Myanmar. ‘We have to see the grand strategic challenge which is confronting us all now and that, I'm afraid, needs a grand strategic response of the type that our forebears dealt with.’ Lord Richards said it was a ‘no-brainer’ that UK operations should extend anti-IS operations from Iraq into Syria. ‘I am very clear that that is the view of the Prime Minister and most of his party. His problem is delivering the politics that allow us to do that,’ he said. He said not enough was being done to train Iraqi and Syrian ground forces to take on IS. ‘You either have to put your own boots on the ground at some point or else you have to very energetically and aggressively train up those who will do that with us and for us. My worry at the moment is that the scale of the challenge isn't being met by the right scale of response. ‘I am worried that without more intensive use of Western boots on the ground in a support role then we won't do it in the time we need to get on and do this in.’ David Cameron praised British soldiers on a surprise visit to Afghanistan last week. But he warned that the struggle against Islamist terror would last a 'generation' But, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said he disagreed with the former army chief’s remarks. He said Britain needed to take the threat from militant groups like IS ‘extremely seriously’, but added this may not necessarily require an increase in conventional forces. ‘How you respond to it is not quite as straightforward as David Richards - much though I respect him - suggests. I don't think it's a question of simply ramping up conventional armed forces again as if we were fighting state-to-state conflicts. ‘Increasingly what you are having is states co-operating together in a jigsaw operation where different countries bring to the effort different capabilities against stateless mobile groups.’ Asked about joining US-led air strikes in Syria, he told Marr: ‘I wouldn't advocate that we extend the air campaign into Syria. ‘It won't come to a vote unless the Government proposes it and the Government is not proposing it right now. ‘We need to persuade the British people and Parliament as well that every time we put servicemen and women in harm's way we do so with a clear strategy in mind, and I think the combination of air strikes and ground forces needs to be properly thought through. ‘That was obvious in Iraq, it's a little more complicated in Syria.’
the armed forces has warned. General Lord soldiers – leaving the Army unable to tackle ISIS Prime Minister that it would be a ‘tall order’ for the SAS to hunt down the British killer killer known as ‘Jihadi John’ dead or alive. regular Army cut from 102,000 serving soldiers to with.’ Lord Richards said it was a ‘no-brainer’ in Syria.’