PRIME minister Boris Johnson was in Lancashire on Monday, where he outlined future plans for the army while visiting an armaments manufacturer.

According to reports on an imminent government defence review, the British Army is set to be reduced by around 10,000 soldiers as part of a move towards cyber warfare and the increased use of robots and drones.

While visiting BAE Systems' facility in Preston, Mr Johnson claimed that overhauling the armed forces will make them “more valuable” to the UK’s allies.

He said: “What we are doing is giving them the kit now that they will need to make themselves all the more useful, all the more, I’m afraid, lethal, and effective around the world.

“Therefore, all the more valuable to our allies, and all the more deterring to our foes.

“We don’t want to fight wars, we want to deter them, and we want to be useful around the world in partnership with our friends to keep the peace.

“To do that, you need strong, robust armed services of the kind that we are investing in, investing in for the long-term, not just for military purposes, although that’s absolutely crucial, but for very, very good economic reasons as well.”

As well as the British Army, BAE Systems, with bases in Preston and Samlesbury, supplies armaments to the USA, The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

The company recently announced that it had delivered a 2 per cent increase in earnings per share for the past year and that sales to £20.86 billion in 2020, up from £20.11 billion in the previous full year.

Meanwhile the British government's defence review is set to reduce the UK armed forces to around 70,000 soldiers, down from around 80,010 last January.

The reductions in numbers are likely to be made through 'natural movement' with this who leave not replaced by new recruits.