“This report from the NAO is damning. Despite this government talking tough on defence - in reality spending has been cut in real terms by 13% since 2010-11 according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies.

“Under the previous Labour administration, spending on defence averaged 2.5% of GDP and never dropped below 2.3% - this is in sharp contrast to the current government's spending plans.

“We live in an increasingly uncertain world with a resurgent Russia, expansionist China and new and emerging threats across the globe - our spending on defence needs to reflect the threats we face.

“We need to support and expand our sovereign capability and capacity and recognise that the defence sector is a crucial part of our industrial and economic infrastructure- providing high quality skilled jobs, helping to defend our citizens and provides export opportunities.

“The government also needs to take a more sophisticated view as to the socio and economic benefits of defence spending in the UK – with between 34-36% of contract value being returned to the Treasury through tax and national insurance.”