ABSTRACT
Thank you, Secretary of State, for coming at very short notice. You look as though you have aged at least 15 years in the last ten weeks, but that is par for the course! Many congratulations on occupying that role. We hope that appearances by the Secretary of State are not merely annual events, we hope we can speak to you quite frequently and you would wish to come to speak to us quite frequently. We are taking evidence today on the mechanics of the Strategic Defence Review. You have sub-titled that, ‘Securing Our Future Together’, whether the acronym SOFT displays any subliminal message to the country or to ourselves, only time can tell! Maybe this session ought to be Hearing About the Review of Defence, which has the alternative acronym HARD. Since I have been on this Committee it seems constantly to be examining reviews, and before I was on the Committee there was a protracted review under Roy Mason and before him endless reviews. So this is the latest in a very, very long line of reviews and I hope when the review is published and acted upon at least there will be a degree of stability, as far as is possible.
