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12.16 pm
The Minister for the Armed Forces (Dr. John Reid): So many questions have been asked and there is so little time to answer.
I doubly congratulate the hon. Member for Mid-Norfolk (Mr. Simpson): first, on obtaining this debate and on the wisdom that he brings to it; and, secondly, on having discovered a new smelting process for brass necks, which produces those of a quality, strength and thickness that have never previously been invented. He combined that with modesty: in his own modest way he failed to declare an interest, in all humility, as an architect of the Conservative Government's policy of the past 10 years.
Had the hon. Gentleman declared an interest as a special adviser to a previous Secretary of State for Defence, he would have had more difficulty convincing us that we must not cut defence spending, when he advised cutting defence expenditure by 30 per cent.; that we must not reduce personnel numbers, when he advised reducing them by 32 per cent.; or that we must produce a mission statement within six months, when he failed to do so in 18 years. I understand the hon. Gentleman's modesty. In a consensual fashion, I had not intended even to refer to the Conservative Government's record, but I thought that we should place in context some of the remarks that have been made.
Let me say from the outset that our commitment in opposition to conducting a strategic defence review, rather than a cost-driven exercise, was central to our determination to provide Britain with strong, capable and modern armed forces. That was our analysis of the need then, and it remains our goal now. Events have proved how right we were to make that decision, for three reasons. First, a policy-led review is the only way comprehensively to assess how our forces should be structured, equipped, trained and deployed to meet the challenges of the 21st century. Only that approach has the potential to afford the armed forces and the Government the coherence and clarity of purpose that they deserve.
Secondly, inherited shortfalls have led to inadequacies, some of which were identified during the strategic defence review. We were unable fully to appreciate them:
as the hon. Member for Mid-Norfolk correctly pointed out, the information was not at our disposal until we came into power.
Headline issues arising from the strategic defence review bear repetition. I allocate no blame, but we must face up to the fact that we cannot transport forces quickly enough or provide the necessary logistic support once they have deployed. Our medical services are thoroughly inadequate. Some parts of the forces cannot communicate effectively with other parts. We face a vicious circle of undermanning and overstretch, which feed on, and exacerbate, each other.
I am not being party political, but we have to admit that there are real problems before we can begin to solve them. It is the easiest thing in the world for politicians at the Dispatch Box to use rhetoric that gets more robust the weaker their arguments become, rather like the Jesuit who comes to the part of his sermon about which he has doubts and writes in the margin, "Shout louder." Surely the days are gone when the services are burdened with increasing inadequacies so that political leaders do not have to find the moral courage to face up to the hard choices. Those problems must be tackled to ensure that our armed forces can be deployed rapidly, flexibly and effectively.
Thirdly, undertaking the strategic defence review was the right decision. We owe it to the brave men and women who risk their lives on our behalf day in, day out--not only when they are in the headlines--to ensure that we have a coherent vision of the future use and structure of our armed forces. Paying further tribute to the men and women of our armed forces is timely. Last night, Kofi Annan, the United Nations Secretary-General, congratulated the Prime Minister on being "the perfect UN peacekeeper". That was not only a justification of the Prime Minister and of the House, and of our commitment to the UN; the accolade was also for the men and women who serve in our armed forces. I cannot convey how proud I am to be associated with them and their efforts day in, day out. It is the Government's duty to give them a coherent vision of the future that recognises their vital contribution. We owe it to them to ensure, through regular scrutiny, that the means at their disposal match their commitment to the tasks set for them by the Government. Only a truly strategic defence review will allow us to address those issues.
I shall quickly cover the main points arising from the debate. First, despite the banter that goes on in the House, our approach has, from the start, been to try to achieve consensus. To use an old cliche, I believe that Britain works best when we work together. Defence is too important to be a political football. I agree with the hon. Member for Salisbury (Mr. Key) that, where possible, national security should be above party politics, which does not mean that there will not be any criticism and that the Opposition should not oppose. Our desire to achieve such a framework arises as much from the acknowledgement of our past mistakes as from our commitment to try to avoid them in future.
Whatever the criticisms, there has been unprecedented consultation during the review. Hon. Members have been involved, and more invitations are going out to members of all parties; seminars have been held; we have involved journalists, academic institutions and ex-military people as well as the Foreign Office and the Ministry of Defence; and industry and trade unions have also played a part. We
have spent a great deal of time on the review: the message that comes back from the forces is that it is better to get it right than to rush it.
We have been particularly keen to listen to the troops. For the first time, a strategic defence review liaison team was established. The team has met thousands of service men and women outside the chain of command. As requested, it responded robustly and frankly, and told us exactly what has been said. There is good will among the troops and morale is high, but there is concern that our review may be the same as those undertaken by the previous Government, which were perceived to be Treasury led.
The hon. Gentleman would have given a fuller picture if he had said that concerns arise not because people are suspicious of what we are doing, but because of their experience under the previous Government. Therefore, we are making every attempt to show that the review is foreign policy led: it is based on a fundamental reassessment of our essential security policy and defence needs and was conducted in its early stages jointly by the Ministry of Defence and the Foreign Office.
We have outlined the conclusions that are emerging, but there is dispute over the extent to which the work should have been done earlier. First, our armed forces have inescapable national commitments. Military aid must be provided to the civil power in Northern Ireland: we hope for a lasting political settlement in the Province, but will not count our chickens before they have hatched. We are responsible for the internal and external security of our dependent territories.
In Europe, we must ensure European and British security by making a commensurate contribution to the maintenance of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, which was a manifesto pledge. The collapse of the Soviet Union has radically reduced the threat of all-out war in Europe, but it has given rise to a plethora of risks--nationalism, border disputes and ethnic tensions--that were suppressed by communism. We have wider global interests, but they do not extend equally and we are most likely to be involved in such problems in Europe, the Gulf and the Mediterranean, where our economic and security interests are most closely engaged.
Other global threats form part of our policy baseline. Recent events in the Gulf have brought home to us the risks from nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. Just as the citizen has rights and responsibilities, this country, as a national citizen in the global community, has rights. Our armed forces will defend them, our territories and interests, abroad and at home. We have responsibilities commensurate with our position at the United Nations and in NATO, and as a leading country in Europe, and we shall discharge them.
Mr. Keith Simpson:
Will the Minister give way?
Dr. Reid:
No. I have only 14 minutes in which to respond to the debate.
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