Friday, August 07, 2009
Leaked reports
According to the Independent Gordon Brown has been accused of hushing up an internal report claiming his government is wasting as much as £2.5bn a year in defence spending:
The report by Bernard Gray, a former Ministry of Defence aide, is thought to accuse the Government of squandering the money by making a number of incompetent procurement decisions. Ministers refused to release the 300-page report last night, which they said was only a draft version.
It had been due to be published last month. However, at the last Prime Minister's Questions, Gordon Brown announced that it would now not appear until after the recess.
Channel 4 News believes that the review states that the Government can only afford two-thirds of the defence equipment it has ordered. They say that huge costs have been incurred when some major projects, such as new aircraft carriers, were delayed but that workers still had to be paid while the work was on hold.
Mr. Gray is understood to have recommended major reforms of how the MoD budget is managed, including the adoption of a fixed budget so the department can plan ahead. The privatisation of Defence Equipment & Support, which handles procurement, is also suggested.
The report by Bernard Gray, a former Ministry of Defence aide, is thought to accuse the Government of squandering the money by making a number of incompetent procurement decisions. Ministers refused to release the 300-page report last night, which they said was only a draft version.
It had been due to be published last month. However, at the last Prime Minister's Questions, Gordon Brown announced that it would now not appear until after the recess.
Channel 4 News believes that the review states that the Government can only afford two-thirds of the defence equipment it has ordered. They say that huge costs have been incurred when some major projects, such as new aircraft carriers, were delayed but that workers still had to be paid while the work was on hold.
Mr. Gray is understood to have recommended major reforms of how the MoD budget is managed, including the adoption of a fixed budget so the department can plan ahead. The privatisation of Defence Equipment & Support, which handles procurement, is also suggested.
