Defence cuts narrowed our options over Syria

SIR – Even if a debate had been held in Parliament before Britain took part in the attack on chemical weapons sites in Syria, the fact that our Armed Forces have been irresponsibly cut to the bone would not have been seen as a matter of much importance by MPS. The retrospective, lengthy Commons debate on Monday proved this.

The noticeable exception was Dr Julian Lewis, the chairman of the Commons defence select committee, who said: “If more was spent on defence then there would be more defence options.” The Prime Minister avoided addressing this fundamental point in her reply.

The Government’s neglect of its first duty in recent years should be seen as a matter of national concern; more so, given the provocative tit-fortat statements made by the Foreign Secretary and Defence Secretary over the poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury, not to mention the armchair bravado of a number of MPS over Syria.

The talk of a new Cold War should prompt an urgent review of our defence capabilities, and those responsible for dismantling our Forces should be held to account. Mark Iles

Newark, Nottinghamshire