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Defence in the World

My right hon. and learned Friend might have heard me draw the NAO report to the attention of the Secretary of State at Defence Question Time on Monday. The Secretary of State replied that our forces in Iraq were showing their customary verve and élan, as the NAO report also makes clear in a very balanced judgment. Does my right hon. and learned Friend agree, however, that we are now reaching a serious situation, particularly in regard to the Royal Navy? Does he agree, too, that there is a heavy responsibility on him? We have to make choices in opposition. I am not going to press him too much on this point now, but there are financial choices to be made, and we must make a commitment that we will reverse this decline in the Royal Navy when we next enter government.