Mali: Lord West on UK defences and troops in Africa

The UK should not get "entangled" in the Mali crisis, a former security minister has warned David Cameron.

Lord West said he warned the last government of the "security implications in this relatively ungoverned part of the world", but the warning was not acted on as Afghanistan, Pakistan and Yemen were seen as more imminent threats.

Despite praising the prime minister's initial reaction to recent developments, he accused him of being "far too eager" to get further involved, citing cuts to the UK's defence budget as a reason to "take a step back".

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