The head of the armed forces was giving a straight answer when he expressed worries about Jeremy Corbyn’s stance on Trident ever being enacted, the defence secretary, Michael Fallon, has said.
Gen Sir Nicholas Houghton, chief of the defence staff, was accused of straying too far into politics by saying the Labour leader’s position on Trident would undermine the credibility of Britain’s nuclear deterrent.
Corbyn was expected to write a formal complaint to Fallon demanding that Houghton be reined in. But Fallon, who has previously, described Corbyn as a security risk, said he had not received any such letter yet and dismissed concerns that Houghton breached the principle of political neutrality.
“He made it very clear he wasn’t commenting personally on what Mr Corbyn has said but the chief of defence staff gives speeches and answers questions in public about these matters,” Fallon said. “He was asked a straight question and he gave a very important answer which is, if you have a nuclear deterrent you’ve got to be prepared to use it.”
On Monday, the prime minister’s official spokeswoman said it was “reasonable” for Houghton, as the government’s senior military adviser, to speak publicly on the issue. She said: “The chief of the armed forces … made a point about the credibility of the deterrent. He made clear he wasn’t talking about a personal thing.
“He was asked about the deterrent. And as the principal military adviser to the government, it’s reasonable for the chief of the defence staff to talk about how we maintain the credibility of one of the most important tools in our armoury.”
The row erupted on Sunday when Houghton told the BBC’s The Andrew Marr Show that the Labour leader’s stance defeated the purpose of the nuclear deterrent. “It would worry me if that thought was translated into power,” he said.
