Tom Tugendhat, the Conservative char of the foreign affairs committee, says this is a welcome start. But will the government put meat on the bones, to ensure the funding is in place to meet these aims.
Johnson says the UK, under these proposals, will be able to project force 8,000 miles away due to the carrier strike force.
Julian Lewis, chair of the intelligence and security committee, says that he is worried that the “naivety” shown towards China during the Cameron years still exists in some parts of government judging by the review.
Johnson says a balanced approach to China is needed.
Meg Hillier, the Labour chair of the public accounts committee, asks what will be cut to pay for this. She says the government has not committed the money to pay for all the defence plans it has.
Her committee has just published a report saying there is a black hole in defence spending plans of up to £17.4bn.
Johnson blames Labour for leaving a defence hole in the defence budget.
Tobias Ellwood, the Conservative chair of the defence committee, says he was hoping for a Fulton, Missouri moment where the government would clearly stand up to China.
Johnson says there is a “balanced approach”. He says he wants a good trading relationship with China. But the government will also stand up to China on human rights, he says.
Ian Blackford, the SNP’s leader at Westminster, says the UK’s global influence is weakening.
He says the government said 12,500 military personnel would be stationed in Scotland. The current figure is less than 10,000, he says, and likely to fall.
Aid spending is being slashed.
And spending on anti-corruption measures will be cut by 80%, he says.
He is referring to this report.
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(@openDemocracy)UK government plans 80% cuts to ‘world-leading’ anti-corruption work https://t.co/IqBvE0NlA4
Johnson says there is no threat to the Black Watch. The government is still investing heavily in international aid, he says, securing 500 jobs in East Kilbride.
He says the SNP wants a “reckless referendum”.
Johnson says the UK will return to the 0.7% aid spending target when fiscal spending allows. He says, listening to critics of the decision to cut that spending to 0.5% of national wealth, people would not realise the UK is the biggest donor to Yemen.
Johnson is replying to Starmer. He says the shadow foreign secretary, Lisa Nandy, and the deputy Labour leader, Angela Rayner, voted against maintaining the nuclear deterrent. Labour is “all over the place” on this issue, he says.
Starmer says Britain should be a force for good in the world.
But the government now has a reputation for breaking international law, not upholding it, he says.
He says policy towards China has been inconsistent in the last decade.
Labour’s support for the nuclear deterrent is “non-negotiable”, he says.
But he says the review abandons the UK’s support for the goal of reducing the nuclear stockpile.
Sir Keir Starmer is responding to Johnson.
He says Labour wants the review to work. It wants the UK to deal with the threat it faces.
But over the last decade the government cut defence spending, he says.
He says Johnson did not say whether troop levels were being cut. It has been reported the size of the army will be cut by 10,000, he says.