Cuts to defence budget proposed

Despite all the criticism heaped on the Government for its underfunding of the Armed Forces, despite the UK being engaged in two major wars and despite all the promises and all the mealy-mouthed words coming from Ministers, the Treasury is now proposing a £15billion cut in the defence budget over the next 10 years!

One victim of the budget cut could be the Future Rapid Effect System (FRES) and the purchase of 3,000 battlefield armoured vehicles. These vehicles are to replace the ageing Land Rovers currently deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan and which are considered particularly vulnerable to roadside IEDs. To delay the FRES programme, which ex-Defence Minister Lord Drayson called "a vital programme which is at the centre of the future of the British Army", would seriously impact the future tactical role of the Army and more importantly would mean that frontline troops would continue to be at unnecessarily greater risk.

That the Cabinet is seriously split on the issue of military funding says a lot for the real commitment to the Armed Forces of Hash Brown and his mates in the Labour Government.

The Telegraph: Cabinet split over defence cuts