HAMPSHIRE MP Julian Lewis is set to be a thorn in the Government's side after landing a key Commons defence job - signalling he will challenge ministers' "absurd" and "indefensible" position on armed forces spending.

The newly appointed Defence Select Committee chair said he will push hard for the Government to meet the Nato target of spending on defence as Britain has a "woeful and inadequate" quantity of personnel and equipment.

Mr Lewis said the shrinking armed forces and lack of clear strategic planning are his principle concerns and cause "justified worry" to defence experts in Britain.

The Tory MP spoke after Speaker John Bercow announced the results of the elections for the chairs of all Commons select committees.

Romsey and Southampton North MP Caroline Noakes suffered disappointment after missing out on the to chair the education select committee.

Dr Lewis, the Conservative MP for New Forest East, was elected chairman of the influential committee, at the second attempt.

He has already clashed with the prime minister over cuts to defence spending and foot-dragging in the renewal of Britain’s Trident nuclear deterrent.

And he recently savaged his own party's record on defence as worse than Labour’s during its period in office, warning the Tories had left Britain's capabilities “enfeebled”.

Now Dr Lewis has a powerful platform from which to apply that pressure, as head of a committee able to launch inquiries and call both ministers and expert witnesses.

Some of the most memorable moments of the last parliament were provided by select committees – including Rupert Murdoch's appearance over phone hacking and ex-RBS chief Fred Goodwin's apology for his role in the bank's collapse.

As well as that profile, leading a committee also brings a hefty salary bump – of £14,728 - in recognition of the extra duties involved.

A delighted Dr Lewis said: “Having very nearly won this post last year, I’m very pleased to have won this time.”

And, setting out his stall, he added: “Defence is falling down the list of this country’s priorities.

“It is absurd when the Government is saying that defence is the first priority, yet it is ring-fencing the budgets of other departments, but not defence.”

The prime minister has pledged to protect spending on the NHS, on international aid and – to a lesser extent – schools in this parliament.

But he has repeatedly ducked calls for Conservative backbenchers to ensure defence spending does not fall below a NATO minimum of two per cent of GDP.

Recently, the US defence secretary said he worried that the UK could become “disengaged” if it makes further cuts to defence spending.

And Dr Lewis has said he fears 20,000 more soldiers could otherwise be axed from an Army that has already shrunk to 80,000.

He added: "Our forces have already taken considerable reductions in resources and in size at a time when threats have been multiplying.

“The decision-making process for formulating a strategy and ensuring we react in a logical way to crises as they develop - that decision- making process, if not completely broken, is certainly enfeebled.”

But there was disappointment for Caroline Nokes, the Romsey and Southampton North, who lost out in the race to chair the education select committee.

with high profile roles going to Meg Hillier at the Public Accounts Committee and Jesse Norman at Culture, Media and Sport.

Mr Lewis took the Defence Committee chair at the second time of asking after narrowly losing out a year ago to Rory Stewart, who vacated the post to become a Government minister.

Asked whether he would pressure the Government over the 2% target, Mr Lewis said: "I have a long track record of doing just that as I see it as an absurd position when governments of all political persuasions ritualistically claim that their first duty is the defence of the realm and then they ringfence the budgets for other government departments whilst leaving defence unprotected.

"This is an indefensible position in more ways than one.

"We have a very high calibre of defence personnel and equipment but a woeful and inadequate quantity of both and a lack of clear strategic planning machinery.

"So these are the issues which principally concern me and I think are a case of justified worry amongst defence minded individuals and organisations in the UK."

Ms Hillier will take over the Public Accounts Committee from Margaret Hodge, who became known for skewering multinational corporations over their tax affairs.

The Hackney South and Shoreditch MP said: "I have been a member of the committee for five years and I am delighted to have the opportunity to continue to challenge government and also public service providers and to press for more efficient and effective services for users.

"I believe in pressing for efficiency and accountability in public spending and an effective, active and hard-working Public Accounts Committee is vital for providing this. I look forward to continuing the committee's important work in holding the Government to account."

Meanwhile, Tory Crispin Blunt won the chairmanship of the Foreign Affairs Committee while Labour former welfare minister Frank Field, seen as a committed reformer, will head up the Work and Pensions Committee.

The influential Backbench Business Committee, which allocates time for MPs to debate their chosen subjects on the floor of the Commons, will be chaired by Labour's Ian Mearns.

Resuming their posts are high profile Home Affairs Committee chair Keith Vaz and widely respected Health Committee chair Sarah Wollaston.

Ms Hillier won the Public Accounts Committee chair with a majority of 33 votes, beating Gisela Stuart into second place.

Dr Wollaston was re-elected with a huge majority after her only challenger, Tory homeopathy supporter David Tredinnick, garnered only 64 votes to the GP's 532.

Mr Blunt beat David Cameron's close ally Nadhim Zahawi into second place in a five way race for the Foreign Affairs Committee, eventually winning by 281 votes to 231 in the fourth round run-off.

Select committees are made up of cross-party groups of MPs and their main role is to scrutinise government policy independently.

The sought-after chairmanships give MPs the power to summon witnesses to Parliament and are worth a £14,876 pay rise alongside extra staff.

Some of the most memorable moments of the last parliament were provided by select committees, such as Rupert Murdoch's appearance before the Culture Committee during the height of the phone hacking scandal, or former RBS chief Fred Goodwin's apology to the Treasury Committee for his role in the bank's collapse.

The elections for the chairs of the contested committees were held by secret ballot yesterday.

No ballot was necessary for 12 committees for which a single nomination had been received.

In the contested elections, a total of 621 ballot papers were submitted, the ballots being counted under the Alternative Vote system.