§ 1. Mr. Peter Morrisonasked the Secretary of State for Defence what is his estimate of the reduction of the numbers in Her Majesty's Forces as a result of cuts in defence expenditure.
§ The Secretary of State for Defence (Mr. Roy Mason)I must ask the hon. Member to await the statement which I plan to make on 3rd December.
§ Mr. MorrisonIs the right hon. Gentleman aware that any reduction in the number of Her Majesty's Forces at a time when the situation in Northern Ireland— indeed, in Great Britain—is deteriorating will not have the support of the vast majority of Her Majesty's subjects?
§ Mr. MasonI would not want to mislead the hon. Gentleman and the House. I have spent many months on a major defence review which is aimed primarily at cutting back on defence expenditure with a view to diverting the savings to other productive capacity in the country and towards investment for exports. There are bound to be some cuts, but at this stage I cannot say what they will be.
§ Mr. Jasper MoreIs the right hon. Gentleman aware that, quite apart from the question of Northern Ireland, it is considered by many people, in view of the situation in the world and particularly the situation in Western Europe, that it would be an act of criminal irresponsibility to reduce our defence expenditure at all?
§ Mr. MasonIf the hon. Gentleman attended defence debates in the previous Parliament he will know that I spelt out the threat. I am fully aware of the threat to our security. I have taken that into consideration during the course of my review.