The Grauniad, no less.....
Houghton received the backing of Maria Eagle, the shadow defence secretary, who told the programme that the chief of the defence staff was within his rights to express his doubts about her party leader becoming prime minister......
Although Houghton’s comments could be seen as a challenge to the authority of an elected prime minister, Eagle, who like most members of the shadow cabinet supports the nuclear deterrent, said the chief of the defence staff was entitled to say what he did. “He has to answer questions from journalists such as yourself when he’s asked and I’m completely comfortable with that,” she told Marr. “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with him expressing himself in those terms.”
She said that she agreed with what Houghton said about nuclear deterrence only being credible if there was a possibility of a state using it and that she had said this herself when Corbyn made his comments at the Labour conference...... She also suggested she would resign if the party did back unilateral nuclear disarmament. Asked if she would serve in a unilateralist government, she replied: “I am not a unilateral disarmer. I don’t believe that that works. I think I would find it difficult but we’re not there yet.”
Later, John Woodcock, the pro-Trident Labour MP, said Corbyn had no right to complain about Houghton because Corbyn himself had signed a Commons motion in 2009 praising Lord Bramall, a former chief of the defence staff, for speaking out against Trident. Woodcock said: “Supporters of CND can’t have it both ways. Unilateral disarmers have been eager to applaud the occasional member of the armed forces who has expressed doubt about Trident renewal. They should welcome these authoritative observations on deterrence by the chief of the defence staff.”