Hammond: UK 'has not closed off' arming Syria rebels

American Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel has said that Washington is rethinking its opposition to arming rebels fighting Bashar al-Assad's Syrian regime. Mr Hagel was speaking during a Pentagon news conference on Thursday where he was joined by UK Defence Secretary Philip Hammond.

Afterwards Mr Hammond spoke to BBC Newsnight's Gavin Esler about the UK's position on Syria, the state of Britain's armed forces and defence funding.