Tory defence committee member Mark Francois said: 'We couldn't fight (Vladimir) Putin for more than a couple of months in a full-on shooting war because we don't have the ammunition and the reserves of equipment to do it, that's true isn't it?'
The deputy chief of defence staff, Lt Gen Sir Rob Macgowan, acknowledged that was true, although Mr Shapps pointed out that any such conflict would be fought alongside Nato allies who could collectively outgun Russia, rather than by the UK alone.