Hoon: Britain can beat terrorism

The 11 September attacks have raised the threat from international terrorism to new heights but Britain's armed forces can meet the challenge, Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon declares today.

They have proved themselves the world over at peacekeeping, intelligence-gathering and counter-insurgency, he says. And they are particularly good at leading and working in coalitions with Nato and European allies.

In a speech to the War Studies Department at King's College London, Mr Hoon discloses the Government is reviewing ways of improving how our forces can intervene abroad quickly. The emphasis is to be on greater "mobility, flexibility and inter-operability". There are plans to add a new division of three brigades, in addition to the present two armoured divisions, capable of being moved anywhere in two days.

There will also be a new Home Defence command to tackle terrorism and emergencies.

Mr Hoon's pledge to beat global terrorism poses two major questions - whether the programme can be managed within the current defence budget of about £23billion, and whether our forces can get the right equipment for new rapid deployment tasks.