David Cameron attacked by US administration over defence cuts
David Cameron is under pressure from the US authorities in relation to rumours that he will rubberstamp a 10% reduction in defence spending in the UK. It is believed that the forthcoming budget review will see major cuts across the board and while the defence sector will not be hit as hard as many other areas, with average spending cuts of over 20%, there is no doubt that US and NATO allies are concerned.
While the government has argued that there has been a major shift in the defence requirements of the UK there is no doubt that ongoing activity in Iraq, Afghanistan and potentially the Falklands to name but a few would stretch an underfunded UK defence sector to the limit. Even though the government has been quick to confirm that nothing has been set in stone as yet there have been too many rumours and too many leaks from the Ministry of Defence for the concerns not to be genuine.
Will David Cameron really take a chance and reduce UK defence spending in the short to medium term? Will a reduction in defence spending potentially sour UK relations with NATO and the US? We will see very soon.
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