Defence chief Sir Jock Stirrup says cuts 'unfortunate'

David Cameron has confirmed defence spending is to be cut by 8% in real terms over four years.

He said RAF and Navy numbers would be reduced by 5,000 each, Army numbers by 7,000 and the Ministry of Defence would lose 25,000 civilian staff by 2015.

The Chief of the Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup said the cuts were "unfortunate" but had been done "in a coherent way" and "avoided making any cuts to the combat units directly involved in operations in Afghanistan".