Bob Ainsworth MP, Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Defence, has responded to Liam Fox’s speech today on cuts to the Armed Services at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors saying:

“Today we had more unanswered questions from Liam Fox. He still can’t tell us how our nuclear deterrent will be paid for – but maybe that’s unsurprising as George Osborne seems to be calling all the shots.

“Until that fundamental question is resolved it will be impossible for the Strategic Defence and Security Review to proceed effectively. The Government needs to give us a clear answer now.

This Review will shape our defence and foreign policy for the foreseeable future and the Coalition Government must get it right. They need to focus on making the right decisions in the best interest of our Armed Forces and our country and end the public squabbling that so far is all we have seen.”