§ Mr. Trotterasked the Secretary of State for Defence what assumptions he made about the present and future strength of the forces of the Soviet Union in formulating his proposals for reducing the strength of the Services.
§ Mr. William RodgersMy right hon. Friend has on a number of occasions drawn the attention of the House to the continuing growth in the strength of Warsaw Pact armed forces. As he explained on 3rd December, our proposals take account not only of our 205W economic situation but also of the threat to our national security and the overriding importance of NATO.