By Ben Farmer, Daily Telegraph Defence Correspondent
THE government defence review risks being superficial and just “a glossy PR document”, a Tory think tank warned.
The Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) must be extended until next year to give time to analyse the threats faced by Britain and to decide how the armed forces must respond, according to the Bow Group.
Recent upheaval in the Middle East and Eastern Europe means the review should not be a rehash of the last one in 2010 as David Cameron has suggested, members warned. Before the election, defence sources said the Prime Minister favoured a “light touch” review which would build on the 2010 findings.
Michael Fallon, the defence secretary, launched the SDSR soon after the Conservatives took power. The findings are expected in late October or early November but the paper from the Bow Group says more time is needed.
“Publication should wait until 2016 to ensure sufficient time for the analysis required, rather than rushing out the publication of a glossy PR document over the summer,” said the report.
The group warned there is “little to be gained from a rushed SDSR, but there is a great deal to be lost if proper thought is not put into the future of our armed forces in an increasingly dangerous world.”
The last defence review was rushed through over the summer of 2010 and widely criticised as an excuse to impose sweeping austerity. The think tank report said: “The world does not look the same in 2015 as it did in 2010, and our expectations for the defence and security environment over the next 10 years must be informed by this.