Richard Drax, MP for South Dorset, today asked the Prime Minister to ‘consider spending more on our armed forces’ following her statement to the House of Commons on last Friday’s allied airstrikes on Syrian chemical weapons bases.
Praising Mrs May’s actions, the MP said,” Leadership takes great courage. My right hon. Friend has shown it in spades and I commend her, as do most in the House today. I am sure she would agree that I would be failing if I did not mention the money spent on our armed forces in difficult times such as this. I ask her, please, to consider spending more money on our defences so that we are ready if, God forbid, they are needed more in the future.
The Prime Minister replied, " I recognise the interest that my hon. Friend has shown in this topic and the way in which he has championed the armed forces in relation to the final settlements."
She added, "Prior to easter, I was able to announce that some extra money was being made available to the Ministry of Defence, and we have in hand the modernising programme in which we are looking to ensure - he referred to our capabilities - that we have the capabilities necessary to deal with the variety of threats that we face."
"The capabilities for our security will be a variety of sorts, not all of which lie with the Ministry of Defence."
"This is good news," says Drax, who as a former soldier has a long record of demanding more funds for the Armed Services.
"But we must not be complacent. I fear that we have degraded our capabilities to such an extent that it will be many years before we are back at a proper fighting weight."
"Our servicemen and women are second to none and are regarded with immense respect in the wider world. But they need proper backing, equipment and kit and we need enough of them to protect our interests both at home and abroad."
"I am not alone in saying this repeatedly. Many current and former commanding officers across all the forces have sounded the alarm. We must now do something about it - and promptly."