Defence Committee Chair Urges Government To Complete Integrated Review

The chair of the Defence Select Committee has urged the Government to complete the Integrated Review.

Conservative MP Tobias Ellwood warned if the review does not go ahead, it will cost the Ministry of Defence (MOD) billions of pounds and could damage the wider standing of Britain in the world.

It follows the news that the Treasury is reducing its long-term Comprehensive Spending Review to one year from three, causing the Government to consider the implications for the completion of the Integrated Review.

Mr Ellwood told Forces News: "I don’t want to see any delay in the review, because it really is that statement of intent.

"It firstly will confirm what the current and emerging threats are that we face.

"It’s a confirmation of where we sit in the world and, like I said, it will also be an indication of the upgrades in soft and hard power that we want to pursue, and then the money, that then comes with it.

"There are so many outstanding questions – how many tanks, how many Warriors, how many Ajax, how many Boxers, how many F-35s we’re going to have.

"Big questions that, if you delay, will cost the Ministry of Defence about £3bn, so we need to make these decisions now, but ultimately if we don’t, it’s going to end up like so many other reviews, and just seen as a cost-cutting exercise."

WATCH: Mr Ellwood speaks to Forces News.

The Integrated Review, launched in February, was described by the Prime Minister at the time as the "biggest review of our foreign, defence, security and development policy since the end of the Cold War".

Mr Ellwood tweeted on Wednesday that Boris Johnson had told him there will be no delay in publishing the review, despite conflicting media reports. 

However, Mr Ellwood told Forces News "we are picking up that there could be a delay to the spending review".

Ministers meanwhile have heard cross-party demands in the Lords not to make further cuts to the Armed Forces.

Defence minister Baroness Goldie said the MOD is talking to the Treasury on its settlement under the Spending Review.

She said ministers are considering how the Integrated Review would be impacted by the one-year spending assessment, with an update to be provided to Parliament when a decision is reached.

Lady Goldie was challenged over "anonymous Government briefings that a cost-cutting Army will slash its manpower by 7,000", and was asked by Labour former defence secretary Lord Browne how it would meet its commitments.

In response, the minister said the MOD’s core obligation is to protect the UK and keep its citizens safe.

She said: "We shall always prioritise how we respond to the threats the UK faces."

The Armed Forces continued to meet all their current commitments, keeping the country and its interests safe, Lady Goldie told the House.

The MPD would ensure it had the resources to "address these key priorities" of looking after the UK’s security and protecting its citizens, she added.

Labour Peer Lord Touhig warned if the Government "downgrade the Army, they downgrade the vision of global Britain and our role in the world".

At question time, Lord Touhig said: "The British Army is overstretched now and should not be cut further."

Conservative former defence minister Lord Robathan said the military was already "pretty stretched" in dealing with the coronavirus fallout, as well as developments involving Russia and China.

He said: "Now is definitely not the time to cut further our already very much depleted Armed Forces."

Cover image: Library photo of Tobias Ellwood MP (Picture: PA).