Today’s guest, Defence Secretary Grant Shapps, made headlines earlier this week when he spoke about up to six amphibious warships planned for the Royal Marines.

These ships would help fight the “conflicts of the future”, he said. Speaking to the BBC, Shapps said the ships would be “more flexible” and capable of carrying out different tasks.

He added that the investment was only possible because of the government’s decision to increase defence spending to 2.5% of national income.

The government had previously said it would be building the new ships. However, Shapps told the BBC’s Today programme that at that time there was not the “means to actually do it”.

“Today, we are able to bring those plans to fruition,” he said. Read more on this story here.