James Cleverly questions the Foreign Secretary about the diplomatic implications of scrapping amphibious assault ships HMS Albion and Bulwark, and failing to set a timeline for spending 2.5% of GDP on defence spending.
Mr James Cleverly (Braintree) (Con)
What conversations did the Foreign Secretary have with the Defence Secretary about the diplomatic implications of scrapping key military capabilities such as HMS Albion and Bulwark, and of the failure to set a timeline for spending 2.5% of GDP on defence spending?
The Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs (Mr David Lammy)
The right hon. Gentleman knows that I have huge respect for him, but that is a little bit rich, given the drop in defence spending that we saw under the last Government. The Prime Minister indicated just last week that we will set out our plans in due course. I am pleased that the Defence Secretary, on coming to power, launched a strategic defence review. Frankly, it should have been done under the last Government.