British military capability at risk from more defence cuts
We’re already extremely taut: MOD secretary
That she was driven to the royals’ regular hospital in central London suggests her condition did not warrant finding a hospital close to Windsor.
In December, her grandson Prince William’s pregnant wife Catherine spent three days at the private hospital with acute morning sickness.
Anurse at the hospital was found hanged after taking a hoax call from two Australian radio presenters posing as the queen and William’s father Prince Charles, which led to details of Catherine’s condition being made public.
Police officers were stationed outside the hospital entrance on Sunday.
Queen Elizabeth was due to visit the Royal Navy frigate HMS Lancaster in the east London docklands on Tuesday. LONDON, March 3, (AFP): The capability of Britain’s armed forces would be put at risk if defence spending is cut again in the government’s next spending review, Defence Secretary Philip Hammond said Saturday.
“There may be some modest reductions we can make through further efficiencies and we will look for those, but we won’t be able to make significant further cuts without eroding military capability,” he told BBC television. “We’re already extremely taut. “We have some very challenging targets ahead of us to deliver the outcome of the last spending review and I’m clear that we won’t be able to deliver big further savings.”
As part of the 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) faced an eight-percent budget cut in real terms over four years, forcing a shrinking in the size of the military.
With talks about to begin on the next public spending round after the 2015 general election year, Hammond said it was time other departments felt the pinch to the same degree.
Last month, Downing Street announced that the MoD would not be saved from further budget cuts as Britain continues trying to rein in its overspending.
“I am not going into the spending review offering any further reductions in personnel,” Hammond told The Daily Telegraph newspaper.
“I shall go into the spending review fighting the case for the defence budget on the basis that we have made very large cuts to defence.
“Any further reduction in the defence budget would fall on the level of activity that we were able to carry out — the idea that expensively bought equipment may not be able to be used, expensively employed troops may not be able to be exercised and trained as regularly as they need to be. “We have maintained ... a remarkably high proportion of our military capability while taking out substantial amounts of cost. We can’t go on doing that, with further reductions, without having significant impact on military capability.
“If we are going to get control of public spending on a sustainable basis, we are going to have to do more to tackle the growth in the welfare budget.”
Hammond’s comments are likely to be welcomed in the Conservative Party, whose backbenchers have urged their leader Prime Minister David Cameron to return to traditional Tory values after coming third in a parliamentary by-election last week in a key target seat.
However, they could ignite tensions with the Conservatives’ junior coalition partners the Liberal Democrats, who oppose deep welfare cuts.
The UK is one of the major military spenders across the world, valued at US$60.8 billion in 2012. However, the country’s defense expenditure decreased during the period 2008-2012. Counter terrorism measures and peacekeeping operations have been key factors stimulating defense spending in the UK, and these will continue to drive the defense budget of the country during the period 2013-2017.
Furthermore, expenditure is projected to decrease US$53.5 billion by 2017.
Budget cuts and resource optimization suggested by the Strategic Defense and Security Review 2010, and the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan are expected to affect the budget allocations. The UK defense budget, which comprised 2.5 percent of GDP in 2012, is expected to decline to 1.6 percent of GDP by 2017 due to budget reductions.