'National Security Through Technology: Technology, Equipment and Support for UK Defence and Security' - or more simply the white paper - is a document that has been a long time coming. With delays and uncertainty around its publication plaguing the white paper from the start, it is not altogether surprising that upon its publication on 1st February 2012 it caused such wide and divisive opinions.For the unions, it was described in terms of "a stunning betrayal" of British manufacturing; Shadow Defence Secretary Jim Murphy MP branded it "a missed opportunity"; and Alison Seabeck MP, Shadow Minister for Defence Equipment, described it as "willing the ends but not the means". All but Seabeck's line seem truly out of countenance with the opinion of the industry most affected by the white paper - namely UK defence and security.
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