Defence supremo goes early as step-change signalled for forces

Dr Fox said nothing would be considered out of bounds in the upcoming strategic defence review, apart from the Trident nuclear deterrent, and hinted major changes were on the way.

One of the first big changes will be the early departure of Air Chief Marshall Sir Jock Stirrup with Dr Fox denying he had been told to go because of his perceived closeness to the former Labour government and association with failed strategies in Afghanistan.

The Chief of Defence Staff had been due to stay on until April next year but will now leave after the conclusion of the defence review in the autumn. The Ministry of Defence's senior civil servant Sir Bill Jeffrey will go at the same time.

The Defence Secretary insisted the timing was agreed in an "amicable discussion" and driven by the question of what was best for the department.

And refusing to rule out manpower reductions, Dr Fox said: "It may be the case that there are some functions we need less of and some we need more of, so it's very unlikely that any of the services will look exactly the same after the review.

"If you have a review, you don't simply say 'I am going to rule X, Y or Z out in advance'. The exception to that has been the nuclear deterrent."

The review would result in a wholesale reorganisation of the MoD's Whitehall operations, he said. Action would be taken to prevent over-runs on procurement projects and to cut back on programmes which are a

legacy of the Cold War, in an apparent hint that the RAF may get fewer fast jets of the kind designed to take on Russian bombers.