I was very saddened to see the end of the Field Gun Competition which was held annually in London and at which the team from Devonport regularly excelled.

Just why it had to come to an end after so many years was not very clear but there were murm-urings of lack of manpower and no time to practice.

Can this really be true? Are we so depleted of naval personnel that a relatively modest number of men could not be spare to train for this traditional competition?

But it seems to be true and perhaps we should all be alarmed at such revelations. The so called 'peace dividend' has reduced our spending on defence by nearly £10 billion per year and has enabled the Government to commit more resources to health, education and policing.

Surely this is a good thing, well yes, as long as we do not go too far and I believe we may have already done so.

Our commitments to Northern Ireland, Bosnia and Kosovo as well as the UN and NATO are clearly stretching our resources.

Longer tours of duties mean more trained personnel leaving the armed forces.

Delayed refits, selling off ships and postponing replacements are all contributing to a sharply downward spiral in our defence capability.

Defence spending is never popular but surely we must accept that our role within international affairs demands a capability both in manpower and equi-pment.

The signs are there for all to see and I hope that this Government will recognise that its prime duty is to defend our country and the freedom we have enjoyed for over 50 years.

The world has not become a stable place overnight and we need to ensure we are not caught out again.

The Field Gun Competition may be only the next casualty so better go and see Navy Day while we still have a Navy to see - makes you think.