http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-15318685
Quote:
Liam Fox was the Ministry of Defence's seventh secretary of state since 1997.
When Mr Fox arrived he said he had a vision of what the armed forces should look like by 2020.
He was confident he would be in charge for some considerable time.
For the first time in 12 years he was going to carry out a comprehensive strategic defence review.
Mr Fox engaged in early skirmishes with the Treasury as to how deep the cuts should go.
Nevertheless, when he wielded the axe there were sharp intakes of breath. The scrapping of the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal, along with the entire fleet of Harrier jets; and new Nimrod spy planes, provided alarming headlines.
Labour, armchair generals and former military top brass accused the government of presiding over a rushed cuts exercise rather than the promised "strategic" review of Britain's defences.
Military chiefs complained of overstretch as the UK took a lead in operations over Libya, to add to the already significant commitment in Afghanistan.
The first sea lord warned that he did not have enough ships. And there's no proof yet this government will be any better than the last at delivering big defence projects on time and on budget.
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Another of Cameron's Big Ideas proves to be a confused and misjudged "bash" at a major problem .....
