ianstone
09-29-2010, 04:36 PM
http://img.thesun.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01134/foxy-280_1134785a.jpg 'Appalled' ... Defence Secretary Liam Fox
Cops search MoD over leaked letter
UK Armed forces;
Slaughter by a thousand cuts,
the UK is in dire strights but will not admit it.
Unless your Special forces or Specialist trade you
will be out of uniform into civilian life again.
Well thank you UK Government.
THE defence cuts crisis deepened today as cops were called in to find out who leaked a bombshell letter sent to the Prime Minister.
In it Defence Secretary Liam Fox warned that slashing military spending while we were at war would have "grave consequences".
Earlier he insisted he was "appalled" the private letter had been leaked to the press.
However, in an extraordinary move, Downing Street authorised up to 30 military police officers to search Ministry of Defence headquarters in London.
http://img.thesun.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01134/cam-180_1134788a.jpg Furious ... David Cameron
Sources said the Prime Minister was privately furious and was determined to find out the source of the leak.
While he is not thought to blame Dr Fox personally, it was a sign that Mr Cameron is convinced the mole must have come from someone inside the MoD.
The letter revealed the scale of the Defence Secretary's concerns over the forthcoming cuts.
In opposition he campaigned tirelessly to improve the lot of our servicemen and women.
However, he now has the job of wielding the axe over vast swaths of our armed forces.
A Government source said: "The tensions between the Defence Secretary and the Treasury have been near boiling point for some time.
"However, the leaking of this letter has laid bare just how deep these tensions have become."
Dr Fox's letter also contained a warning that the forthcoming cuts to military spending risks seriously damaging the troops' morale.
He added that the Tories risk "destroying much of the reputation and capital" they have built up on defence.
Brutal
The review - which is expected to see the £37billion annual defence budget slashed by up to ten per cent - will be published later in the autumn.
And he warned the Government could provoke a "brutal" international reaction if it failed to "recognise the dangers and continue to push for such draconian cuts at a time when we are at war".
Confirming that an investigation by MoD Police would take place, Dr Fox said: "It's appalling that a Secretary of State can't write to the Prime Minister in confidence and we will be looking into that this morning."
Labour accused the Government of being in "chaos" and voiced fears it was rushing its Strategic Defence and Security Review.
Shadow Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth said: "This is an incredible letter which reflects many of our concerns about their approach to this review.
"Rushed decisions that are not based on our strategic needs pose a real risk for our future security."
General Sir Richard Dannatt, head of the Army between 2006 and 2009, said it was "most unfortunate" the "very private letter" had entered the public domain.
Sir Richard said a consensus was emerging that the number of fast jets will be "slashed hugely" and there is a question mark over the carrier programme.
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But he added: "If the UK wants to go on playing a significant role in the world, it has got to have some sort of power projection."
He called for a "proper analysis" of the threats to the UK's national security otherwise "it is simply a cuts exercise".
In the letter, Dr Fox set out specific spending implications and warned that losing amphibious landing ships would leave the country unable to mount missions such as that in Sierra Leone ten years ago.
The Navy could be forced to withdraw from areas such as the Indian Ocean, Caribbean and Gulf, while a cancelled Nimrod MR4 reconnaissance plane programme created "some risk" to civil contingent capability around Mumbai-style terror attacks and the 2012 Olympics, he warned.
Dr Fox insisted: "I wanted to let you know my views, which are shared by my ministerial colleagues.
"Our decisions today will limit severely the options available to this and all future governments."
He added: "If it continues on its current trajectory it is likely to have grave political consequences for us, destroying much of the reputation and capital you, and we, have built up in recent years.
"Party, media, military and the international reaction will be brutal if we do not recognise the dangers and continue to push for such draconian cuts at a time when we are at war."
The letter appeared following a meeting today of the National Security Council in Downing Street, chaired by Mr Cameron.
While discussions between senior ministers, officials and military top brass at Downing Street were described as "substantial", it is understood no final decisions were taken on where the spending axe would fall.
Instead, officials were instructed to carry out more work in preparation for a further meeting of the NSC, possibly as early as the end of next week, once Conservative ministers are back from their party conference in Birmingham.
Cops search MoD over leaked letter
UK Armed forces;
Slaughter by a thousand cuts,
the UK is in dire strights but will not admit it.
Unless your Special forces or Specialist trade you
will be out of uniform into civilian life again.
Well thank you UK Government.
THE defence cuts crisis deepened today as cops were called in to find out who leaked a bombshell letter sent to the Prime Minister.
In it Defence Secretary Liam Fox warned that slashing military spending while we were at war would have "grave consequences".
Earlier he insisted he was "appalled" the private letter had been leaked to the press.
However, in an extraordinary move, Downing Street authorised up to 30 military police officers to search Ministry of Defence headquarters in London.
http://img.thesun.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01134/cam-180_1134788a.jpg Furious ... David Cameron
Sources said the Prime Minister was privately furious and was determined to find out the source of the leak.
While he is not thought to blame Dr Fox personally, it was a sign that Mr Cameron is convinced the mole must have come from someone inside the MoD.
The letter revealed the scale of the Defence Secretary's concerns over the forthcoming cuts.
In opposition he campaigned tirelessly to improve the lot of our servicemen and women.
However, he now has the job of wielding the axe over vast swaths of our armed forces.
A Government source said: "The tensions between the Defence Secretary and the Treasury have been near boiling point for some time.
"However, the leaking of this letter has laid bare just how deep these tensions have become."
Dr Fox's letter also contained a warning that the forthcoming cuts to military spending risks seriously damaging the troops' morale.
He added that the Tories risk "destroying much of the reputation and capital" they have built up on defence.
Brutal
The review - which is expected to see the £37billion annual defence budget slashed by up to ten per cent - will be published later in the autumn.
And he warned the Government could provoke a "brutal" international reaction if it failed to "recognise the dangers and continue to push for such draconian cuts at a time when we are at war".
Confirming that an investigation by MoD Police would take place, Dr Fox said: "It's appalling that a Secretary of State can't write to the Prime Minister in confidence and we will be looking into that this morning."
Labour accused the Government of being in "chaos" and voiced fears it was rushing its Strategic Defence and Security Review.
Shadow Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth said: "This is an incredible letter which reflects many of our concerns about their approach to this review.
"Rushed decisions that are not based on our strategic needs pose a real risk for our future security."
General Sir Richard Dannatt, head of the Army between 2006 and 2009, said it was "most unfortunate" the "very private letter" had entered the public domain.
Sir Richard said a consensus was emerging that the number of fast jets will be "slashed hugely" and there is a question mark over the carrier programme.
Advertisement
http://pixel.quantserve.com/pixel/p-e4m3Yko6bFYVc.gif?labels=NewsAndReference,Entertai nmentNews
But he added: "If the UK wants to go on playing a significant role in the world, it has got to have some sort of power projection."
He called for a "proper analysis" of the threats to the UK's national security otherwise "it is simply a cuts exercise".
In the letter, Dr Fox set out specific spending implications and warned that losing amphibious landing ships would leave the country unable to mount missions such as that in Sierra Leone ten years ago.
The Navy could be forced to withdraw from areas such as the Indian Ocean, Caribbean and Gulf, while a cancelled Nimrod MR4 reconnaissance plane programme created "some risk" to civil contingent capability around Mumbai-style terror attacks and the 2012 Olympics, he warned.
Dr Fox insisted: "I wanted to let you know my views, which are shared by my ministerial colleagues.
"Our decisions today will limit severely the options available to this and all future governments."
He added: "If it continues on its current trajectory it is likely to have grave political consequences for us, destroying much of the reputation and capital you, and we, have built up in recent years.
"Party, media, military and the international reaction will be brutal if we do not recognise the dangers and continue to push for such draconian cuts at a time when we are at war."
The letter appeared following a meeting today of the National Security Council in Downing Street, chaired by Mr Cameron.
While discussions between senior ministers, officials and military top brass at Downing Street were described as "substantial", it is understood no final decisions were taken on where the spending axe would fall.
Instead, officials were instructed to carry out more work in preparation for a further meeting of the NSC, possibly as early as the end of next week, once Conservative ministers are back from their party conference in Birmingham.