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DEFENCE REVIEW: DRAFT BY THE DEFENCE SECRETARY
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On 21 March I announced the start of the most extensive
and thorough review of our system of defence ever undertaken
by a British Government in peace-time. Its purpore was to
produce a defence structure that would be modern, effective
and within the limits of what Britain could afford.
2.
In the Labour Party Manifesto for the recent election ve
repeated our pledge to reduce the proportion of the nation's
resources devoted to defence so that the burden we bear will
be brought into line with that carried by our main Europeon
allies. We also reaffirmed our commitment to achieve annua i.
savings of several hundred million pounds over a period.
3.· The Defence Review has now made sufficient progress for us
to move to the stage of consultation with our allier about thi
way in which the necessary changes in our defence projInre
should be made.
14. NATO is the linch-pin of British security and wil Pema Las
the first charge on the resources available for dsfenes.
sholl therefore discunn our plug in deb~13. with our ¡LATO
partnera. It de am much in British in berente ao ab
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of the Alliance that the economies we are obliged to
be rebleved in a why thint wi13 enmure the mor bedfordlan
of the limited resources we can all meke vaj lable for det
5. We have also reviewed our commitments outside NATO.
i , of course, maintain our obligations to defend our
remaining dependent territories. We have examined other
commitments case by case and we have concluded that subglondal
CONFIDENTIAL
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