I am extremely honoured to be the Defence Secretary, and I would not do the job if I did not think that I could make a useful contribution in the role.

Our aim is always to minimise casualties and to separate a hardline Taliban from those who have been caught up in the insurgency.

As the Chief of the Defence Staff says, you don't defend on the goal line. Defending the interests of the U.K. means tackling threats early and at source, and that means intervening overseas.

It's hard to find good teamwork in practice, and I have never thought that we, as a party, were any better at working as a team than the Tories, despite our core values.