Britannia Radio

NEWS RELEASE Saturday 21 November 2009: Release time immediate   DEFENCE CAMPAIGNERS VOICE CONCERNS OVER FURTHER CUTS TO THE ROYAL AIR FORCE   Cutbacks would “fly in the face of current overstretch”     The UK National Defence Association (UKNDA), which campaigns in support of Britain’s Armed Forces, has expressed its deep concern over suggestions that the Government may be considering further cuts to the Royal Air Force including the closure of air bases and reductions to RAF manpower.   The UKNDA, which is backed by a number of former service chiefs including Marshal of the Royal Air Force Lord Craig of Radley (a former Chief of the Defence Staff) and Air Chief Marshal Sir Michael Graydon (former Chief of the Air Staff), is calling on the Government to make clear its intentions regarding the future of the RAF, and warns that any reductions would seriously harm Britain’s already-stretched defence capabilities.   A UKNDA spokesman said: “We note with deep concern reports that the RAF might be cut still further. This, if true, flies in the face of current overstretch and the level of commitments. Defence has been chronically underfunded for a long period by successive governments. Raising the level of debate on defence and national security remains a key objective for the UKNDA, which is the only organisation actively campaigning for proper defence funding."   In the recent UKNDA report, “A Compelling Necessity”, co-authors Andrew Roberts, Allen Sykes and Dr Irwin Stelzer argue that increasing Britain’s defence budget represents the best value for national resources even in the midst of recession, and that any future Strategic Defence Review must, of necessity, recommend an increase in funding for defence and national security.   “A Compelling Necessity” accuses the Treasury of squeezing the defence budget to the point where the Navy, Army and Air Force are competing with one another for an adequate share of the limited resources available. This, say the co-authors of the UKNDA paper, is a clear indication of failure to recognise the potentially wide-ranging dangers to Britain’s security. “The only adequate defence provision”, says the report, “is one that maintains a large, flexible, general contingency in all three Services.”   -Ends   Media contacts:   Cdr John Muxworthy, RN (Rtd) Chief Executive, UKNDA, email ceo@uknda.org, tel 01264 860693 / 07721 624980.   Air Cdre Andrew Lambert, RAF (Rtd) Director, UKNDA, email andrewlambert99@hotmail.com, tel 01499 302499 / 07811 262303.   Andy Smith Public Relations Officer, UKNDA, email pro@uknda.org, tel 07737 271676.   Notes to Editors: 1. The United Kingdom National Defence Association (UKNDA) was formed in 2007 to campaign in support of Britain's Armed Forces. Its President is Winston S. Churchill, former MP and war correspondent (and grandson of Britain's wartime Prime Minister). Tri-Service and politically independent, the UKNDA aims to ensure that Britain's fighting men and women are properly trained, equipped, sustained and cared for. For details, go to www.uknda.org 2. “A Compelling Necessity: The case for increasing the defence budget despite the present severe economic crisis” is available to download from the Media Centre at www.uknda.org. Its co-authors are: Andrew Roberts, the highly accomplished journalist and historian, whose books include Napoleon and Wellington, Eminent Churchillians, A History of the English-Speaking Peoples since 1900, Masters and Commanders, and The Storm of War, Allen Sykes, a retired international businessman who has had a longstanding interest in political and military history, the Armed Forces, defence strategy and international affairs, and Irwin Stelzer, the distinguished US economist and journalist, Director of Economic Policy Studies at the Hudson Institute, and a regular columnist for newspapers in America, Britain and Australia, including The Sunday Times, The Spectator, Weekly Standard, Washington Examiner, Courier Mail (Brisbane) and New York Post.