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Defence in the UK

I respect what the hon. Gentleman says and I understand his argument, but the point that was made at the time was that one could not have such a thing as a timetable for withdrawal, and the fact of the matter is—[Interruption.] That was not the point that was made at the time; the point was made that we could not have a timetable for withdrawal, but of course we can have a timetable for withdrawal. Clearly, it has to be a timetable that takes account of the circumstances, but the fact of the matter is that we can have such a timetable and, ultimately, as was always going to be the case, that is precisely what we have ended up having. The arrival of a new US Administration is a very welcome development. That is already giving rise to a remarkably swift reconsideration in the United States of its approaches to some of the significant issues with which we are ourselves tied up.