BRADFORD South MP Judith Cummins today questioned the Defence Secretary over reports the Government intends to dramatically reduce the size of the armed forces.

This followed media reports on Sunday that plans had been drawn up to reduce the size of the army. 

Speaking during Defence Questions, Mrs Cummins said: “Can the Secretary of State categorically deny reports that Number 10 wishes to slash the size of the army from 74,000 to 55,000 personnel?

“And, if not, will he at least confirm to this House that he personally opposes any plan to reduce the size of the armed forces?”

In response, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said: “I can confirm there is no plan to slash the size of the armed forces.

“The reports in the Sunday Times were complete erroneous reports, that was made clear to the journalist at the time.

“What is the case is our armed force should always, always be defined by both the threat we face as a nation, the capabilities we have and Britain’s global ambition and that is why in the integrated review we will deal with those processes rather than start the debate about numbers.”