Secretary of State for Defence, Philip Hammond made a statement in the House of Commons on Wednesday 19 December on the quarterly review of progress in Afghanistan since September 2012.
Shadow Secretary of Defence, Jim Murphy, responded to the statement on behalf of the Opposition.
Oral statements
Oral statements are made after Question Time (or at 11am on a Friday) and after any Urgent Questions.
Statements normally relate to matters of policy or government actions. At the end of a statement, MPs can respond or question the government minister on its contents.
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