Government whips have been warned that there is a real risk of a ministerial resignation in protest at defence cutbacks, the Standard has learned.
Senior Tories say at least one minister in a major department has hinted strongly that he is prepared to quit to show his dismay at threatened cutbacks to military hardware and manpower.
"People do not come into government to trash the things they hold dear," said an insider. "And there is a real risk that the cuts being demanded would cause long-term damage to defence."
In another challenge to Treasury cost-cutters, the outgoing head of the Armed Forces attacked calls for Trident to be cut down. Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup said it may as well be scrapped because a less capable replacement system would not be "credible".
"We have to have the minimum credible deterrent," he said. "If you are not going to have that, then you are better off having zero."
His intervention follows pressure for the four-boat, 365-day-a-year system to be slimmed down, perhaps by scrapping one of the submarines that ensure continual readiness.
Any resignations over defence spending would strain David Cameron's relations with his Right-wingers.
Tensions have been building between Defence Secretary Liam Fox and Chancellor George Osborne in the run-up to the Strategic Defence and Security review which is expected to pave the way for major reductions, cutting the £37 billion defence budget over five years by between 10 and 20 per cent.
Among targets for the axe are an Army brigade and one of two new aircraft carriers, for which contracts worth £1.25 billion have already been awarded. The RAF could be reduced to its smallest size since the First World War, according to some reports.
Senior Tories expressed alarm today over claims that the MoD may postpone the replacement of the Trident nuclear deterrent system for up to five years. The BBC said a delay beyond 2015 would avoid a political row in the run-up to the next election.
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Former defence spokesman Bernard Jenkin said any such move would "disturb the Conservative Party very, very deeply" and push up costs in the long run. "This would be the maddest decision of them all," he said.
