Tory plans for the defence of the realm worry us all

Commenting on the Defence Command Paper published yesterday, Jamie Stone MP, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Defence, said:   “The Government's plans for the defence of the realm should worry us all.   "Everything we have heard so far has reeked of financial mismanagement and broken promises.   “Drastic cuts to our armed forces to plug the defence budget blackhole whilst wasting millions on a Hollywood-style situation room tells you everything you need to know about this vanity obsessed Government.     "Our Army is the smallest it has been in hundreds of years and our reserves are dwindling in numbers. Yet the Prime Minister is more concerned about his own image. This is not how a responsible Government chooses to defend our country.   “The Government’s appalling cuts to foreign aid makes no sense at all.  Not only will it impact the most vulnerable people in the world, but it will diminish Britain’s clout overseas. This comes at a time when they choose to increase the UK's nuclear stockpile in direct breach of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which does nothing to address the imminent risks our country faces.   "These moves lack logic and coherence, and speak volumes of the Government's moral failure."