Philip Hammond: Defence spending to focus on front line

The prime minister has said he will stick to a promise that defence spending will increase after 2015.

He gave the commitment back in 2010 at a time when the defence budget was being cut.

But the forecasts for the economy were better then and the chancellor has since made it clear that government departments are going to have to find more ways to cut their budgets.

The Defence Secretary, Philip Hammond, told the Today programme: "We are constantly driving efficiency through our budget, now spending, trying to take out our cost in the rear areas, so we can focus our front line, on providing the equipment and support that our troops need."

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4's Today Programme on Thursday 31 January 2013.