The new defence secretary, Philip Hammond, has insisted that he supports plans for the renewal of Britain's Trident nuclear deterrent.
Within days of his appointment to the role following the resignation of Liam Fox last Friday, industry experts raised fears that Hammond would rethink the programme because he had failed to back it in parliament.
The new generation of missile-carrying submarines is expected to cost up to £25bn in cash terms, and the first of the four replacement submarines is planned to enter service in 2028.
Asked whether he wanted Trident to be renewed, Hammond told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "Yes, that is clear. I am absolutely committed to the Trident programme and always have been.
"I heard this story earlier in the week, and I think the issue was that I was actually out on a visit on the route of the high-speed railway proposal when the vote was taken in parliament. Had I been there, I would have voted in favour."
Fox had indicated that he would resign if Trident was ditched, as the Liberal Democrats wanted, while he was still in the post, but the "main gate" decision was pushed back to 2016.
Hammond also said defence cuts would not prevent Britain having viable armed forces.
He said: "We have had to make some serious budget cuts. My predecessor has successfully negotiated with the Treasury a settlement that will allow the UK to continue to project force abroad, to continue to have viable and sustainable armed forces in the future.
"Over the next 10 years, we will be spending £165bn on military equipment and equipment support and this is a major investment.
"We have demonstrated during the course of the Libya campaign our ability to mount a significant operation while simultaneously fighting a major engagement in Afghanistan."
taken from http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/oct/21/philip-hammond-backs-trident-renewal
Within days of his appointment to the role following the resignation of Liam Fox last Friday, industry experts raised fears that Hammond would rethink the programme because he had failed to back it in parliament.
The new generation of missile-carrying submarines is expected to cost up to £25bn in cash terms, and the first of the four replacement submarines is planned to enter service in 2028.
Asked whether he wanted Trident to be renewed, Hammond told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "Yes, that is clear. I am absolutely committed to the Trident programme and always have been.
"I heard this story earlier in the week, and I think the issue was that I was actually out on a visit on the route of the high-speed railway proposal when the vote was taken in parliament. Had I been there, I would have voted in favour."
Fox had indicated that he would resign if Trident was ditched, as the Liberal Democrats wanted, while he was still in the post, but the "main gate" decision was pushed back to 2016.
Hammond also said defence cuts would not prevent Britain having viable armed forces.
He said: "We have had to make some serious budget cuts. My predecessor has successfully negotiated with the Treasury a settlement that will allow the UK to continue to project force abroad, to continue to have viable and sustainable armed forces in the future.
"Over the next 10 years, we will be spending £165bn on military equipment and equipment support and this is a major investment.
"We have demonstrated during the course of the Libya campaign our ability to mount a significant operation while simultaneously fighting a major engagement in Afghanistan."
taken from http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/oct/21/philip-hammond-backs-trident-renewal
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