NICK CLEGG: I actually agree, strongly agree, and it's something I've been calling for for years, that we should have a complete review about whether our military equipment is right for the job that we are asking our brave soldiers and brave servicemen and women to do. Because of course the world is changing and the threats to this country are changing with it. What I simply don't understand is if we hold that review, as I think is going to be likely after the general election, whoever wins that election, both David Cameron and Gordon Brown want to rule out one of the biggest items of defence expenditure of all, which is the Trident nuclear missile system. This was a system that was designed at the height of the Cold War to flatten St Petersburg and Moscow. Is it really that important?
ALASTAIR STEWART: Let me bring David Cameron in on that point.
DAVID CAMERON: Let me answer that directly because I think it's important. I think the most important duty of any government, anyone who wants to be Prime Minister of this country, is to protect and defend our United Kingdom. And are we really happy to say that we'd give up our independent nuclear deterrent when we don't know what is going to happen with Iran, we can't be certain of the future in China, we don't know exactly what our world will look like? I say we should always have the ultimate protection of our independent nuclear deterrent. That's why we voted to make sure that happened.
("LORD" Cameron: I really dont know what you were thinking. Hit Beijing with your Trident...)
