No more defence cuts, pledges PM as he makes historic trip to Algeria after hostage crisis

David Cameron ruled out further defence cuts last night, saying that military spending would rise in real terms after 2015. During a historic trip to Algeria, the Prime Minister sought to quell a mounting backlash from Tory MPs and military top brass. His pledge came as the Ministry of Defence’s finances were once again called into question by the National Audit Office, Britain’s spending watchdog. David Cameron pictured in Algiers, Algeria today as a Government source indicated that he was keen to veto fresh cuts to avoid throwing the MoD into financial turmoilDavid Cameron pictured in Algiers, Algeria today as a Government source indicated that he was keen to veto fresh cuts to avoid throwing the MoD into financial turmoil In Algeria, a senior Government source indicated that Mr Cameron was keen to veto fresh cuts to avoid throwing the MoD into fresh financial turmoil. An insider said the Prime Minister has not gone back on ‘anything he has said in the past about defence spending’. Mr Cameron, who recently warned about a ‘generational struggle’ against Al Qaeda in the Sahara region, is the first serving British prime minister to visit Algeria since it gained independence in 1962. In 2010, the Ministry of Defence was ordered to cut £4.7billion – or 8 per cent – from its budget. But speaking at the time, Mr Cameron promised ‘year on year real-terms growth in the defence budget in the years beyond 2015’. George Osborne has already agreed that the MoD’s equipment budget should rise by 1 per cent a year every year from 2015 to 2020. The PM's decision to ringfence the defence budget sets the scene for a bloody Cabinet battle over the 2015-16 spending reviewThe PM's decision to ringfence the defence budget sets the scene for a bloody Cabinet battle over the 2015-16 spending review But the Prime Minister’s decision to ringfence the defence budget sets the scene for a bloody Cabinet battle over the 2015-16 spending review, due to be published later this year. The Chancellor has announced that he wants to make a further £10billion cuts across Whitehall. Mr Cameron’s defence pledge piles pressure on him to end protections granted to health, schools and foreign aid spending. The move comes days after it was announced that a third round of 5,300 Army redundancies will be made in June. facilityThe gas facility in Amenas where International and Algerian hostages were killed in a terrifying ordeal Defence Secretary Philip Hammond will today publish the department’s long-awaited equipment plan explaining how it would spend £160billion over the next decade on buying and maintaining military hardware such as submarines, warships, fighter jets and attack helicopters. But a National Audit Office report on the equipment programme, published simultaneously, warned that the cash-strapped MoD had failed to get to grips with its budget. ‘We have a concern that there are still areas of risk to affordability,’ it said. It pointed to an internal MoD review which concluded that the equipment plan faced a £12.5billion shortfall. SAS help