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Public Accounts

I personally believe that we could get better bang for our buck if we spent more of the £34 billion that we spend on defence on buying the best equipment for our armed forces, sourced from wherever in the world. By buying protectionist equipment, we deny our armed forces the equipment they so desperately need in Afghanistan and Iraq. I have spoken in the House before about the high price I believe our armed forces pay for that. Protectionism may be in the interests of a few corporate suppliers and a few defence contractors, but it is not in the interest of taxpayers or, ultimately, of our armed forces.