Donald Trump defence chief calls for ‘credible’ British military despite budget cuts
Mr Mattis’ words have come as he met UK Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson at the Pentagon on Thursday.
The pair discussed ways to bolster US-UK defence cooperation in an attempt to strengthen the special relationship before it is turned over the next generation.
However, Mr Mattis’ words have come as the UK’s Ministry of Defence is preparing itself to deal with a black hole of more than £20billion over the next decade.
Leaked proposals have shown that British defence chiefs last year considered cutting 11,000 soldiers from the Armed Forces to save money as part of a Whitehall security review.