Armed Forces to miss out on extra cash as campaign against online jihadis gets boost
ARMED forces will miss out on extra funding as cash goes on shoring up cyber defences instead.
The MoD has been told not to expect anything on top of its £36billion a year budget following a security spending review.
Instead, national security advisor Mark Sedwill wants more money to go on fighting Islamic extremists online.
One ministerial source said Mr Sedwill “is determined to screw over the MoD”.
The review has fuelled fears among Tory MPs that troop numbers will be cut by 12,000 to 70,000.
But former Defence Secretary Liam Fox said: “We should wait and see exactly what sort of compromise we reach — because that’s what it will be.”
‘There’s a review going on at the present time and I think back to my time as secretary of state for defence where we had a similar review ongoing and there’s always a lot of tension, not just between the MoD and the Treasury but also inside the MoD between the different parts of the armed forces and naturally there are concerns about the future shape of that.”
New Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson will face MPs on the issue in the Commons in his first defence questions later today.
Tobias Ellwood, the minister responsible for defence personnel and veterans, is understood to have concerns about proposals.
Tory MP Johnny Mercer, a former army officer and a prominent member of the Commons Defence Select Committee, has warned the party leadership “feelings are running high” on the issue.
He tweeted: “Heading back into town for another scrap this week.
“I am determined that as the party of defence, we as a team will get it right.”
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Speculation about defence cuts has mounted in recent months since the launch of a review led by Theresa May’s national security adviser Mark Sedwill.
The MoD said no decisions had been made and dismissed reports about the options being considered for cuts as “speculation”.
Tory grandee Sir Nicholas Soames, a grandson of Sir Winston Churchill, added: “The Conservative parliamentary party has a duty now to unite against further defence cuts to capability.”