Letters | 23 January 2010

Hastings’s battle

Sir: Max Hastings, one of the shrewdest and well-informed writers about defence, is right (‘The military’s last stand’, 16 January). There is a good case for increasing the defence budget, but no British government is likely to do so unless there is a dramatic deterioration in the international situation. Budgets are likely to be cut, but our defence forces can and should continue to be important for our country’s security, reputation and influence. The forces are crying out for a Strategic Defence Review and the longer one is delayed the more will be the uncertainty and wasted defence money. A radical approach is required and a move away from some of the long-accepted beliefs that, for instance, all three services are of equal importance and that their budgets should continue to roughly reflect this. Risks have to be taken by defence policy planners and programmers as we cannot afford always to be ready for every eventuality.