On 2 March, defence secretary Liam Fox announced that troops now in Afghanistan could be among 11,000 military personnel who will be sacked as part of the cuts. Fox admitted he may have to cut more than planned under last year's strategic defence and security review (SDSR). Ministry of Defence sources said the department had identified a gap of “several hundreds of millions of pounds” between the MoD’s financial commitments and its allocated budget for 2011-12. According to a report in the Daily Telegraph, the gap for this year may be £1bn. Cutting Reaper and Predator drones in Afghanistan would save an estimated £100m.
Topics: Cuts & austerity