Hugh accuses MoD

HUGH ROBERTSON ACCUSES MoD OF INACTION OVER INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM

Hugh Robertson has warned the Defence Secretary not to forget the war on terrorism and the threat posed by Al Queda. Hugh served in the army during the 1991 Gulf War and later commanded the British Detachment in Sarajevo during the siege of the city. He is currently Conservative Defence Whip and gave the warning during a speech on Defence Policy in the House of Commons.

Hugh is concerned that the war in Iraq has diverted attention from the war on terrorism. He feels that Al Queda is the most dangerous threat the West has faced since the end of World War II and fears that the UK is not taking the issue as seriously as the USA.

During his speech, he argued that Al Queda is not one organisation but a network of terror groups and rogue states bound together by a loose allegiance to an extreme form of Islam and a hatred of the USA. The responses needed to defeat such a network are increasingly complex.

They would include repairing the damage done to the international institutions such as the UN, NATO, the EC and tackling the problem of international terrorism with more sophisticated responses - diplomatic, legal, humanitarian and international development.

He also warned the Ministry of Defence against any for of defence cuts at such a sensitive time.

Hugh said: "Nobody should be in any doubt that Al Queda poses a deadly threat. They wish to destroy us and everything we stand for, regardless of the cost in human life."

I fear that we have gone to sleep on the case. We need to re-examine our response both in the short and the long term. The consequences of failure will be disastrous."