The Defence Secretary has signalled he may not be able to make the deep budget cuts required by George Osborne without affecting front-line troops.
Hard-headed: ministers who cannot cut
their budgets will be interrogated by Osborne and Alexander (pictured
here on a visit to Crossrail, central London.) Photo: REUTERS
In a warning to the Chancellor, Mr Hammond said he would not make "output
cuts" that have an impact on the UK's ability to defend itself without
forcing Mr Osborne to reconsider savings "across Government"
Mr Osborne yesterday said he was "pretty confident" of getting £11.5 billion
of extra public spending cuts from Whitehall, after he got seven departments
to sign up to cuts of around 10 per cent.
However, speaking on BBC Radio Four's Today programme, the Defence Secretary
sounded sceptical that his department will be able to meet the Treasury's
demands.
Mr Hammond denied being a "hold-out" refusing to make cuts required
by the Treasury, as he indicated he is very willing to make "efficiency
savings" if they can be found.
"We can look for efficiency savings, which everybody should be looking
for all the time, not matter how many times you have done it before you can
always go back and have another look," he said.
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