John
10-16-2010, 01:27 PM
Britain's defence budget will be cut by less than 10 percent over the next four years after officials reached an agreement late Friday on the outline of a sweeping review of the country's armed forces.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a senior government official told Reuters that Prime Minister David Cameron had sided with Defence Secretary Liam Fox, rather than Chancellor George Osborne, in a spat over defence spending cuts.
The official declined to elaborate, but that is likely to mean the Ministry of Defence (MoD) will not have to find the 20 billion pounds to renew Britain's Trident nuclear missile system from its core budget, as previously requested by the finance ministry. The funds will instead now come from the Treasury.
"The prime minister has not come down on the side of George Osborne," the official said.
"The cuts are less than 10 percent," the official added.
Some analysts suggest the cuts might be limited to seven percent.
The MoD budget of 36.9 billion pounds will be cut partly to reduce Britain's record budget deficit, now at more than 10 percent of national output.
The MoD has also conducted a major review of the armed forces, the first since 1998, and was due to unveil its vision of the military's future in a Strategic Defence and Security Review Tuesday.
The review has been at the centre of a public dispute between Fox and the finance ministry, with Fox warning in a leaked letter last month of "grave political consequences" if the ministry's "draconian" cuts are pushed through.
Cameron's softer line on defence spending cuts is also likely to mean Britain will keep its two planned aircraft carriers at a cost of some 5.2 billion pounds.
Source - Yahoo News.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a senior government official told Reuters that Prime Minister David Cameron had sided with Defence Secretary Liam Fox, rather than Chancellor George Osborne, in a spat over defence spending cuts.
The official declined to elaborate, but that is likely to mean the Ministry of Defence (MoD) will not have to find the 20 billion pounds to renew Britain's Trident nuclear missile system from its core budget, as previously requested by the finance ministry. The funds will instead now come from the Treasury.
"The prime minister has not come down on the side of George Osborne," the official said.
"The cuts are less than 10 percent," the official added.
Some analysts suggest the cuts might be limited to seven percent.
The MoD budget of 36.9 billion pounds will be cut partly to reduce Britain's record budget deficit, now at more than 10 percent of national output.
The MoD has also conducted a major review of the armed forces, the first since 1998, and was due to unveil its vision of the military's future in a Strategic Defence and Security Review Tuesday.
The review has been at the centre of a public dispute between Fox and the finance ministry, with Fox warning in a leaked letter last month of "grave political consequences" if the ministry's "draconian" cuts are pushed through.
Cameron's softer line on defence spending cuts is also likely to mean Britain will keep its two planned aircraft carriers at a cost of some 5.2 billion pounds.
Source - Yahoo News.