Labour left a £3.3 billion black hole in the defence budget according to the incoming Defence Minister, Dr Liam Fox. Writing in the Times, Dr Liam Fox said the Ministry of Defence had been "living beyond its means for too long". He used as an example that the cost of building two aircraft carriers rose by £767m. "Some projects would actually be more expensive to cancel than to continue – which is an absurdity that you would only really find made in Whitehall,” was Dr Fox’s verdict on the defence department.