No time for bodging, we need bold thinking on defence

COMMENTARY: At last a rash of realism seems to have broken out in David Cameron's thinking on defence. It is reported that Downing Street is "actively reviewing" the latest round of cuts.

This was sure to happen once it became clear that British forces will be involved in Libya. As things stood, as the head of the RAF, Sir Stephen Dalton, has warned publicly we would be running out of planes, ammunition and pilots by the end of the summer. In Afghanistan, British forces face another tough summer. As the Prime Minister presses the pause button, the opportunity for a real reform must not be thrown away.

First the heads of the three services must stop their squabbling.

Secondly, a really deep inquiry is needed into the whole way we do security. In this the Strategic Defence and Security Review was only a start. If the job is to be effective the Prime Minister must keep his Chancellor and Cabinet bully boys on a short leash.

It is not a time for bodging. The long-term result should be a more realistic and bolder assessment of Britain's need in what the great Joe Nye calls the combination of hard power and soft power - smart power.