§ 4. Mr. DevlinTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will estimate the effect on the number of jobs in the defence industry of reducing United Kingdom defence spending to the European average. [351]
§ Mr. PortilloA reduction in UK defence expenditure to the current NATO European average would involve cuts of more than £4.5 billion per year. This would have a devastating effect on the capability of our armed forces and on jobs in the defence industry.