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Armed Forces (Modernisation)

Let me say again that the Secretary of State meant no discourtesy to hon. Members. I made an error in not explaining at the beginning that the Secretary of State had another commitment and that that was why I am here. There was no attempt to sneak out the information. Several statements are tabled today, two of which relate to the subject of the urgent question. Clearly, we have sought to ensure that hon. Members have all the appropriate information about the announcements. Hon. Members who remember that the announcements were made last year will know that today’s statements today effectively put the meat on the bone of information that had already been given to them to a large extent. There has been no attempt on the Government’s part to prevent everyone from having the appropriate and required information. On the hon. Gentleman’s point about me personally, I do not feel that I am being sent here to do the Secretary of State’s job. He is well able to defend himself in any circumstances. [Interruption.] I am grateful, Mr. Speaker. The right hon. Gentleman says that I am here reluctantly. Answering to the House for my responsibilities as a Minister is a paramount duty. It is one of my top responsibilities. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State shares that view. It is what I am paid to do and that is why I am here today. The hon. Member for Aldershot (Mr. Howarth) asked about university air squadrons. I have no knowledge of the matter that he raised. I shall look into it the moment I return to the Ministry of Defence and if there is anything that I should communicate to him, I will do that as quickly as possible. Under the Labour Government, our forces have been valued and supported. We have had the longest sustained increase in public expenditure for more than 20 years. I can find no better words than those of the right hon. and learned Member for Devizes (Mr. Ancram), who said last year on 16 December: "The Opposition agree that there is a need for our armed forces to be more usable."—[Official Report, 16 December 2004; Vol. 428, c. 1801.] The problem with the Opposition is that their hearts tell them that what we are doing is right but they simply do not have the guts to support us.