LIVE BLOG: Defence cuts – restructuring the armed forces
David Cameron presents the Strategic Defence Review, cuts are expected to fall on the army in Germany, the Navy’s carrier fleet and RAF aircraft. Follow it as it happens on our live blog.
Earlier it was reported that the HMS Ark Royal will be scrapped immediately, and that the Harrier fleet will also be hit hard, leaving Britain with no carrier capable craft until two new carriers are built.
David Cameron spoke to military chiefs earlier today saying:
He said: “We will make sure that Britain is well defended and we have a set of Armed Forces that actually are fit for the modern world. We will look at the real threats that we face today in our world, whether it’s from cyber terrorism, whether it is from international terrorism or terrorism that comes from dissident Republicans in Northern Ireland.
“We will look at the modern threats that we face in a modern world and make sure our Armed Forces are fit to face them.”
Chancellor George Osborne had previously planned a minimum of 10 per cent cuts for the armed forces. However after internal wrangling in government last week it is expected those cuts will be between seven to eight per cent.
Strategic Defence Review
Cheap petrol, expensive cocaine, rescue at sea, every computer you use today. They're all in play in the Spending Defence Review, writes Carl Dinnen.
"David Cameron's got it in for the tanks.
"In yesterday's Security Strategy he said the UK's military equipment is "too rooted in a Cold-War mind-set ... Main battle tanks aplenty, but not enough protected vehicles to move our forces on the insurgency battlefield."
Read more about what the cuts mean - Strategic Defence Review: what's up for grabs?