Bob Ainsworth
Bob Ainsworth

I have always had a keen interest in defence and military history and read more on this subject than anything else.

Bob Ainsworth
Bob Ainsworth

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

Bob Ainsworth
Bob Ainsworth

I never expected to be Defence Secretary. It's a great privilege.

Bob Ainsworth
Bob Ainsworth

We in the West walked away from Afghanistan at the end of the Cold War and left it as a country devastated socially and armed to the teeth. If we do that again, there will be consequences.

Bob Ainsworth
Bob Ainsworth

I come from a pretty tough background and I learned a long time ago not to be bothered.

Bob Ainsworth
Bob Ainsworth

I got a tooth bust by somebody who decided they didn't like me and I thought the moustache hid a scar on my lip. It's true that people were told facial hair was not appreciated by the British public, but I just decided to keep the moustache.

Bob Ainsworth
Bob Ainsworth

My heroes are the non-commissioned officers. If I had another life that's what I'd be - a regimental sergeant major or a similar rank. That's where the spirit of the armed forces is.

Bob Ainsworth
Bob Ainsworth

Failure in Afghanistan would have profound consequences for our national security. It would undermine the NATO alliance structure that has been the bedrock of Britain's defence for the last 60 years... I will not allow this to happen on my watch.

Bob Ainsworth
Bob Ainsworth

Stalin's policies pushed the world into the Cold War. Putin has the potential to be equally as dangerous.

Bob Ainsworth
Bob Ainsworth

We have tended in politics in this country to concentrate on the domestic, on the here and now - the 'what's in it for me'.

Bob Ainsworth
Bob Ainsworth

If you stand at an election and put a manifesto in front of people saying you're going to improve health care, you have to stick by that.

Bob Ainsworth
Bob Ainsworth

I have strengths, and I have weaknesses. I don't pretend to be able to write a great thesis or doctorate - I have no pretensions in that direction.

Bob Ainsworth
Bob Ainsworth

I'll tell you what I do have: I have a good feel for ordinary people, for politics, and those are my strengths. I understand, I hope instinctively, where many of our Armed Forces come from.

Bob Ainsworth
Bob Ainsworth

It's true that people were told facial hair was not appreciated by the British public, but I just decided to keep the moustache.

Bob Ainsworth
Bob Ainsworth

If I had another life, that's what I'd be - a regimental sergeant major or a similar rank. That's where the spirit of the armed forces is.

Bob Ainsworth
Bob Ainsworth

Defence must be more adaptable, able to respond quickly to the changes in the security environment and the character of conflict.

Bob Ainsworth
Bob Ainsworth

I was Minister for the Armed Forces in the Ministry of Defence for two years prior to being appointed Defence Secretary.

Bob Ainsworth
Bob Ainsworth

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.

Bob Ainsworth
Bob Ainsworth

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.

Bob Ainsworth
Bob Ainsworth

On the back benches, you can have your say but no power to do anything.