Labour’s Shadow Defence Secretary Vernon Coaker MP, speaking ahead of the debate on the Defence Reform Bill in the House of Commons tomorrow, said:

“Labour will work with the Government when we think it is doing the right thing on defence. But we have a duty to voice our concerns, shared by MPs from all parties, that Ministers are gambling with Britain’s defence and security and the ability of our armed forces to protect our country.

“The Government’s defence reforms are a mess, and David Cameron and his Defence Secretary have nobody to blame but themselves.

"Labour is worried about pressing ahead with a reduction to the number in the regular Army without an adequate uplift in the number of reserves.

“There are serious concerns about the Government’s failure to publish detailed reserve recruitment figures – despite Ministers promising they would– because we have no way of knowing whether the Government is on course to meet its own targets.
 
“We are not calling for the reforms to be reversed. We are not saying the reforms should be shelved. But we need to see evidence they progressing as planned and promised. The Defence Secretary now needs to take some responsibility and show us that they are.”