§ 42. Mr. David Priceasked the Secretary of State for Defence what would be the effect on Great Britain's defence capability of cutting the defence budget by a further £1,000 million a year.
§ Mr. William RodgersA further cut of £1,000 million a year in the defence budget could be achieved only by a drastic reduction in our front-line forces. This would jeopardise the credibility of NATO's defensive strategy at a time when the military capability of the Warsaw Pact is increasing both in numbers and in quality and thus lessen the prospect of genuine detente. There would also be serious repercussions on our relations with other members of the North Atlantic Alliance, which could affect the political cohesion of the Alliance.