This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/uk_politics/8137934.stm
The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Ministers to start defence review | Ministers to start defence review |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| A "root and branch" review of Britain's defence policy is to be announced later by the government. | A "root and branch" review of Britain's defence policy is to be announced later by the government. |
| Ministers are expected to promise an interim "Green Paper" setting out their thinking around the turn of the year. | Ministers are expected to promise an interim "Green Paper" setting out their thinking around the turn of the year. |
| This will come before a more substantive Strategic Defence Review after the next general election when key decisions will be made. | This will come before a more substantive Strategic Defence Review after the next general election when key decisions will be made. |
| Government sources said the initial review would not consider making cuts to the £36bn defence budget. | Government sources said the initial review would not consider making cuts to the £36bn defence budget. |
| Instead, the review will examine defence policy as a whole - its purpose, the way it works, what the services expects, its technological priorities. | Instead, the review will examine defence policy as a whole - its purpose, the way it works, what the services expects, its technological priorities. |
| This means that the government appears to be putting off any substantive spending decisions about defence until after the election. | This means that the government appears to be putting off any substantive spending decisions about defence until after the election. |
| Trident renewal | Trident renewal |
| Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth is to announce details of the review in a written statement to the House of Commons later today. | |
| It will be the first full-scale review of the Armed Forces since the Strategic Defence Review of 1998. | |
| The Ministry of Defence confirmed that Mr Ainsworth would be making a statement on defence strategic planning. | |
| An influential think tank report published last month suggested the UK should consider slashing defence spending by up to £24bn and revisit plans to renew its Trident nuclear weapons system. | An influential think tank report published last month suggested the UK should consider slashing defence spending by up to £24bn and revisit plans to renew its Trident nuclear weapons system. |
| The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) report said Britain cannot afford much of the defence equipment it plans to buy and urged the country to consider possible alternatives to Trident or extending the life of the system. | |
| Its authors include former defence secretary Lord Robertson and the ex-Lib Dem leader, Lord Ashdown. | Its authors include former defence secretary Lord Robertson and the ex-Lib Dem leader, Lord Ashdown. |
| Labour and the Conservatives back renewing Trident when it expires in 2024, at an estimated cost of £20bn, but many Labour MPs oppose it. | |
| Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg has called for it to be scrapped, saying it is too expensive and no longer meets the UK's defence needs. | |
| The defence review also comes after news of a £1bn cost overrun on two new aircraft carriers. | |
| The original budget for the two carriers for the Royal Navy was £3.9bn but the BBC has seen a memorandum revealing the programme will come under "severe pressure" because of the cost escalation. | The original budget for the two carriers for the Royal Navy was £3.9bn but the BBC has seen a memorandum revealing the programme will come under "severe pressure" because of the cost escalation. |