The Labour Party has launched a Shadow Defence Review. BritishForcesNews reports (22 Feb) that:

 The party says it will review the threats the UK faces, assess the Government's defence policy and seek a long-term vision for UK defence policy. Jim Murphy, the Shadow Defence Secretary, said the Government's Defence Review had been driven by savings not strategy. In the party's across-the-board policy review, he launched a consultation document before an audience of ex military, defence industrialists and academics. Highlighting the dramatic demolition of the Nimrod MRA4 he said 2010's strategic defence and security review had been rushed and would leave the forces with serious capability gaps. He added that the Arab Spring, where the UK's contribution in Libya depended on warships due to be paid off, meant the review had not survived first contact with events. He accepted that 2015s expected ongoing financial crisis meant some of the current cuts could not be restored. However, he singled out changes to widows' war pensions as one area Labour would revisit.

BritishForcesNews' video report includes an interview with Maj Gen Tim Cross.

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