A row over defence funding was growing today as a national security review backed channelling money into cyber warfare and away from the Armed Forces.
It was claimed today that the National Security Adviser Mark Sedwill has concluded the military do not need any extra funding.
Some ministers had hoped the growing terror threat would justify an increase in defence spending.
Defence Minister Tobias Ellwood has reportedly threatened to resign if any new cuts are made to Army manpower.
Gavin Williamson, the new defence secretary, will make his Commons debut this afternoon to face MPs questions.
Gavin Williamson, the new defence secretary, will make his Commons debut this afternoon to face MPs questions
It was claimed that the National Security Adviser Mark Sedwill has concluded the military do not need any extra funding
One ministerial source told The Daily Telegraph that Mr Sedwill ‘is determined to screw over the MoD’ because he wants more money to tackle security threats in cyber space.
The source said: ‘The problem is the NSA [Mr Sedwill] is driving a ‘within-the-costs-envelope’ approach at everyone.’
Downing Street said the report was ‘pure speculation’ and that Mr Sedwill’s report would be finished in due course.
As the defence spending row grew yesterday, Trade Secretary Liam Fox has suggested a compromise deal will be found to quell the unrest as he acknowledged there were tensions over a review of defence capabilities.
Mr Ellwood, the minister responsible for defence personnel and veterans, is understood to have concerns about proposals which could see the Army’s full-time strength reduced by 12,000 to 70,000.
Defence Minister Tobias Ellwood has reportedly threatened to resign if any new cuts are made to Army manpower
Tory chairman of the Defence Select Committee Julian Lewis called for a 50 per cent increase in defence spending as the only way to avoid the ‘hollowing out’ of the armed forces.
Johnny Mercer, a former army officer and a prominent member of the Defence Select Committee, has warned the Tory leadership a number of Conservative colleagues are prepared to fight back over the threat of cuts and ‘feelings are running high’ on the issue.
‘Heading back into town for another scrap this week,’ he warned.
‘I am determined that as the party of defence, we as a team will get it right.’
Mr Lewis used a letter to the Guardian to set out his views: ‘By barely achieving Nato’s 2 per cent minimum figure, we have dangerously downgraded the place of defence in our list of national priorities.
‘Setting ourselves a spending target of 3% of GDP for defence would not by itself guarantee our security, but without such an increase there is no prospect of recruiting personnel and buying equipment on a scale sufficient to avoid the ‘hollowing-out’ of our armed forces.’
Speculation about defence cuts has mounted in recent months since the launch of a review led by Mr Sedwill.
The review is examining all aspects of national security capabilities, fuelling speculation it will prioritise measures to counter cyber attacks and terrorism rather than major defence projects.
HMS Bulwark (file image) is one of the military assets reportedly earmarked for cuts
As well as rumours about potential cuts to the strength of the Army, there have been concerns about the future of armoured vehicle programmes and suggestions that amphibious assault ships HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark could be axed alongside the loss of 1,000 Royal Marines.
A letter sent to Mr Williamson by Tory MPs warned that the loss of Albion and Bulwark would ‘dangerously limit the array of options’ available to the Government in a military or humanitarian crisis.
It said: ‘We must make it clear to you that as a cohort of MPs representing a large portion of the Government’s vote, we are not prepared to see the degradation of this nation’s amphibious capabilities any further in this capability review that the Government is currently undertaking.’
But Dr Fox, a former defence secretary, said: ‘You have to look at our record.
‘We are one of the very few Nato countries that actually spends 2 per cent of our GDP on defence.
‘There’s a review going on at the present time and I think back to my time as secretary of state for defence where we had a similar review ongoing and there’s always a lot of tension, not just between the MoD and the Treasury but also inside the MoD between the different parts of the armed forces and naturally there are concerns about the future shape of that.
‘But this is an ongoing discussion.
‘I’m afraid it’s not unknown for some of these tensions to spill over into the public domain.’
Asked about the Sedwill review, A Ministry of Defence spokesman told the a Telegraph: ‘No decisions have been made and any discussion of the options is pure speculation.’
A Treasury spokesman said: ‘We cannot comment on speculation on meetings between cabinet ministers.’