1 Introduction
1. On 18 July 2002 the Secretary of State for
Defence, Rt Hon Geoffrey Hoon MP, published what he described
as a "groundbreaking White Paper,"[1]
The Strategic Defence Review: A New Chapter—
setting out further and more detailed conclusions,
particularly in the area of capabilities to counter terrorism
abroad.[2]
The work which led up to this document was launched
following the terrorist attacks of September 2001 and announced
by the Secretary of State in a speech to the Labour Party Conference
of October 2001.[3]
He noted that the attacks on the United States (US) had brought
home the question of "whether we are doing enough to cope
with the full force of the new threats we face", and while
"military action alone is not the answer…there may not
be an answer where military action does not play a vital part".
He added that—
we will be looking again at how we organise our
defence. This will not be a new Strategic Defence Review, but
an opportunity—if necessary—to rebalance our existing
efforts.[4]
In the House he announced that it would be a new
chapter to the 1998 Strategic Defence Review—
this will not be a new strategic defence review,
but we need to add a new chapter to it and to look hard at our
priorities in our plans and programmes…[5]
2. In a speech at King's College, London in December
2001, the Secretary of State listed an "immensely challenging
and complex" series of questions that the New Chapter would
seek to answer. He said that the work would be "detailed
and rigorous", and would "leave the United Kingdom properly
positioned to deal with the new threats".[6]
3. In this report we attempt to examine how far
the New Chapter has met the objectives set for it and to what
extent it was an appropriate response to the events of 11 September
2001 and the new threats they represented. This report focuses
on issues of doctrine, concepts and general policy. It also makes
some comments on other elements of the New Chapter, such as equipment,
force structure and personnel issues. We expect to return to these
in future inquiries, including our forthcoming examination of
the military campaign in Iraq. In undertaking this inquiry, the
Committee is building on the work it did on two previous reports:
The Threat from Terrorism[7]
and Defence and Security in the UK,[8]
both of which dealt with aspects of the New Chapter.
4. During the course of our inquiry we took evidence
from Ministry of Defence (MoD) officials and from academics and
other experts. We visited 45 Commando Royal Marines in Arbroath,
held an evidence session at the Joint Doctrine and Concepts Centre
(JDCC) in Shrivenham, conducted a workshop on the New Chapter
at King's College, London, took evidence from the Chief of the
Defence Staff (CDS), Admiral Sir Michael Boyce GCB OBE ADC, representatives
of the volunteer reserves and their employers, the Chief of Defence
Logistics (CDL), Air Chief Marshal Sir Malcolm Pledger KCB OBE
AFC, and held a number of other meetings. We concluded with an
evidence session with the Secretary of State for Defence. We also
received a number of written memoranda and are grateful to all
those who contributed to the inquiry. We were assisted by our
specialist advisers: Professor Michael Clarke, Rear Admiral Richard
Cobbold, Air Vice-Marshal Professor Tony Mason, Dr Andrew Rathmell
and Brigadier Austin Thorp.
1 Statement on the SDR New Chapter, HC Deb, 18 July
2002, col 460. Back
2
Ibid, Published as Ministry of Defence, The Strategic
Defence Review: A New Chapter, Cm 5566 Vol I, and Supporting
Information and Analysis, Cm 5566 Vol II, July 2002, hereafter
SDR NC Vol I and Vol II. Back
3
'This fight will be long and hard', speech by Defence Secretary
Geoffrey Hoon to Labour Party Conference, Brighton, 2 October
2001. Back
4
Ibid Back
5
HC Deb, 4 October 2001, col 809-810. Back
6
"11 September-A New Chapter for the Strategic Defence Review",
speech by Secretary of State for Defence, Geoffrey Hoon, at King's
College, London, 5 December 2001, http://news.mod.uk/news/press/news_press_notice.asp?newsItem_id=1247. Back
7
Defence Committee, Second Report of Session 2001-02, The Threat
from Terrorism, HC 348-I and HC 348-II. Back
8
Defence Committee, Sixth Report of Session 2001-02, Defence
and Security in the UK, HC 518-I and HC 518-II. Back
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