THE MINISTRY of Defence’s system for buying tanks, ships and planes is “broken” and has wasted billions of taxpayers money, a damning report has found.
Britain is facing the biggest threat of full-blown conflict than at any point since the Cold War, MPs on the defence select committee said.
The Ministry of Defence system for buying tanks, ships, and weapons is ‘broken’, warns a new report
But our ability to defend our shores is being undermined by bungling procurement projects beset by spiralling costs and missed timelines.
A £5.5BN project top get hundreds of Ajax armoured vehicles has been repeatedly delayed after it was so noisy during testing that troops suffered hearing loss.
Another scheme to get warships known as anti submarine Type 26 frigates was first launched in 1994 – but they will not be operational until October 2028.
The UK is also “short of munitions”, they warned.
In their blistering report, MPs said: “The Ministry of Defence must finally admit, once and for all, that there is a real problem across UK defence procurement: the current system is indeed broken and multiple, successive reviews have not yet fixed it.
“With a major war now under way in Ukraine, now is the time to act.”
They told MoD bosses to “stop rewarding failure” and get tough with bungling contractors.
They made some 22 detailed recommendations to improve the way the lucrative contracts are awarded and overseen to stop money being wasted.
Tory MP Mark Francois, chairman of the committee, said: ““Our report finds that the Ministry of Defence’s approach to procurement is well and truly broken.
“Bureaucratic, siloed and slow-moving – this is a dysfunctional system that has left multiple programmes floundering in its wake. This urgently needs to change.
“Bureaucratic buck-passing and the shirking of responsibility has meant that there is all too often no one to hold personally accountable when highly expensive programmes fail.”
Government plans to improve the killing ability and agility of the Army will be published on Tuesday.
The Defence Command paper will set out proposals for reforming the military.
An MOD spokesman said: “Defence procurement is not broken. There is no evidence to suggest poor oversight on the Type 26 programme, and through decisions on E-7 we have made savings of £720 million.
“We are delivering next generation capabilities on programmes across the defence portfolio, including Ajax which is now delivering vehicles for the British Army.
“With £5 billion over the next two years to improve readiness and resilience, we continue to ensure we deliver world-leading equipment and provide our people with the capabilities our armed forces need.”
Did you miss our previous article...
https://trendinginthenews.com/uk-politics/cheaper-booze-and-chocolate-on-the-way-after-kemi-badenoch-inks-huge-12trillion-trade-deal-in-new-zealand
