New Defence Secretary In Hot Water After Failing To Make Budget Requests

Labour joined senior Tory MP Julian Lewis in putting pressure on Mr Williamson about potential cuts at Defence questions.

Shadow defence secretary Nia Griffith said Tory backbenchers were in "open rebellion" on the issue.

It comes after reports emerged over the weekend that defence minister Tobias Ellwood could quit.

Mr Williamson told MPs he was yet to have a formal meeting with the Chancellor.

Ms Griffith said: "You cannot do security on the cheap.

"With expert after expert highlighting serious gaps in defence funding, it was surreal last week to hear the permanent private secretary say that the man in charge had made no formal pre-Budget requests to the Chancellor for more money.

"It's one thing to ask and not get, but another not even to bother asking.

"So did I hear correctly today, and would the Secretary of State just confirm for us, that he actually did not make any representations to the Chancellor before the Budget?"

Mr Williamson replied: "What we have to do is to ensure that we understand what the needs are for our defence, our armed forces, going forward.

"She may wish to rush into things and actually just demand and demand and demand.

"What I want to do is to make sure that we have the arguments ready, understand the threats that this country faces and make sure that we deliver for our armed forces.

"That is what the focus is going to be.

"I have many conversations with the Chancellor and I'm looking forward to many, many more going forward."

Ms Griffith said she would "take that as a no", adding: "This is serious.

"We are hearing the marines may be cut by 15% and the Army reduced to 70,000, something which would seriously put our international credibility at risk.

"With his own backbenchers in open rebellion and one of his ministers threatening to quit over cuts, just how bad do things have to get before the Secretary of State does his job, stands up for defence and tells the Prime Minister and Chancellor that enough is enough."

Mr Williamson said it was "a little bit rich" for Labour to lecture the Tories on defence and the Government was committed to increasing defence spending.

Mr Lewis, chairman of the Defence Select Committee, told Mr Williamson:

"Now, we spend barely 2% of GEDP on defence, and perhaps a target nearer to 3% of GDP on defence might prevent our armed forces being further hollowed out?"

Mr Williamson replied: "I've always seen 2% as a base as against a ceiling, and I will certainly be taking on board his thoughts and comments going forward."

A further 60 UK military staff will be sent to Afghanistan to help train and support the country's army, the Defence Secretary has said.

Gavin Williamson said this is in addition to a previously announced expansion of 85 personnel.

Hundreds of UK troops are already in Afghanistan as part of the NATO training mission.

Speaking at Defence questions, Mr Williamson said:

 "What we've already seen is an announcement of an uplift of 85 personnel who will be going to Afghanistan to support the work of the Afghan army.

"We are also going to be supplementing that with an additional 60 service personnel in order to continue the training and the support that the Afghan army needs.

"While in Afghanistan we've seen substantial progress being made. We cannot take this for granted and we must continue to support the Afghan government as it continues to root out extremism."

Williamson also announced that the RAF will continue operations against Islamic State (IS) for "a considerable time more" despite the terror group's territory losses.

He told MPs that "amazing progress" has been made against the terror group by the RAF in Iraq and Syria.

But he added the UK will continue to face threats from the so-called Islamic State.

Speaking in the Commons, Conservative MP and former Army officer Bob Stewart questioned how long Operation Shader will last given that "apparently Daesh is almost defeated".

Mr Williamson replied:

 "While we have made such amazing progress with over 1,600 operations flown by the RAF over Iraq and Syria, we shouldn't actually think as the territory is denied to Daesh that actually they are defeated because what they'll do is disperse.

"And the threat this country faces means we will continue to have to fly operations above Iraq and Syria for a considerable time more."

The Government has also been warned it faces a "very substantial rebellion" from Tory MPs if it fails to find the money needed for the armed forces.

New Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson was urged to ensure Chancellor Philip Hammond "digs deep into his pockets" and tells Theresa May about her duty to defend the country.

The claim comes as Williamson sidestepped accusations that he failed to make formal requests to Philip Hammond for more money for defence before the Budget.

Gavin Williamson, making his debut at the despatch box, said he wanted to understand the threats faced by the UK, with a defence review ongoing across Government.

Lord John Burnett, a former Royal Marine, says he will only be happy if there are no cuts imposed on the UK's amphibious capability: