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The UK’s plan to arm its military has failed to adapt to a more dangerous world following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the government risks being unable to meet vital NATO commitments, an influential group of MPs has warned.

In a damning assessment of the Ministry of Defence’s (MoD’s) ability to purchase equipment, the Public Accounts Committee said it had “serious doubts” that a rolling, ten-year procurement plan is “agile and responsive enough to react to this more dangerous international situation”.

It called the whole system overseen by Defence Equipment and Support – the branch of the MoD charged with procuring kit – “broken”.

The MPs questioned an “optimism bias” behind the £242.3bn equipment budget for 2022-to-2032 given the impact of rising inflation and unfavourable exchange rates.

Much of the UK’s military gear is bought from the United States.

In addition, balancing the sums in the equipment plan requires the MoD to meet an ambition to make efficiency savings worth £13.8bn over the coming decade, even though it has not yet set out how it will achieve £5bn of the total.

Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, deputy chair of the committee said: “If the MoD does not act swiftly to address the fragility of its supply chain, replenish its stocks, and modernise its capabilities, the UK may struggle to maintain its essential contribution to NATO.

He added: “Neither taxpayers nor our armed forces are being served well. There needs to be meaningful change of this broken system. The department needs to break from this cycle of costly delay and failure and deliver a fundamental, root and branch reform of defence procurement.”

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‘It’s an uphill battle with the Treasury’

MoD’s equipment plan ‘failed’ to adapt to volatile world

Another problem, again caused by inflation, is the impact on the government’s ability to retain defence staff, particularly in high-skilled areas such as technology, given the value of public-sector salaries is being eroded. This makes private sector careers more alluring.

The MPs drew on an assessment by the National Audit Office – the government’s spending watchdog – as well as evidence from senior officials within defence to deliver their verdict in an annual report on defence’s vast plan to buy equipment, from warships and jets to computer chips and codes.

“The Ministry of Defence’s approach to its equipment plan has failed to adapt to a more volatile world,” the committee said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine a year ago triggered a refresh of the UK’s defence, security and foreign policy.

“However, we have serious doubts about whether the department’s equipment plan process is agile and responsive enough to react to this more dangerous international situation,” the report said.

“We are concerned that the department lacks the urgency required to develop and deliver promptly the enhanced capabilities that the armed forces need.”

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This includes the rapid purchase of more ammunition and weapons to replenish stockpiles that have been given by the UK to the Ukrainian armed forces in support of their fight against Russia as well as to grow the UK’s own stockpiles.

Capability gaps in the army were focused on in particular, such as delays to the delivery of new, multi-billion-pound armoured vehicles, such as the Ajax mini-tank and also critically important communications gear that is meant to be fitted to all the kit.

This impacts the UK’s ability to deploy force, particularly in support of NATO allies.

Sky News revealed earlier this year that a senior US general privately told Ben Wallace, the defence secretary, that the British Army is no longer regarded as a top-level or tier-one fighting force.

Mr Wallace, the longest-serving Conservative defence secretary, has already admitted that the UK has not been able to field a war-fighting division for many years.

The provision of a division – of up to 25,000 troops – is something NATO allies have looked to the UK and other powerful member states to be able to deliver in a crisis as part of the alliance’s collective defence and security.

Equipment plan out of date given Ukraine war

A summit in Lithuania in July will see allies finalise updated commitments to bolster NATO’s defences and deter Russian aggression as Russia’s war in Ukraine rages on.

The Public Accounts Committee said the MoD’s current equipment plan is already out of date given the Ukraine war.

“Equipment arrives into service many years late and significantly over-budget, with depressing regularity,” the MPs said.

“Neither taxpayers nor our Armed Forces are being served well. There needs to be meaningful change of this broken system. The Department needs to break from this cycle of costly delay and failure and deliver a fundamental, root and branch reform of defence procurement once and for all.”

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Traders jailed for interest rate rigging have convictions overturned

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Traders jailed for interest rate rigging have convictions overturned

Two traders jailed for rigging benchmark interest rates have had their convictions overturned by the Supreme Court.

Tom Hayes, 45, was handed a 14-year jail sentence – cut to 11 years on appeal – in 2015, which was one of the toughest ever to be imposed for white-collar crime in UK history.

The former Citigroup and UBS trader, along with Carlo Palombo, 46, who was jailed for four years in 2019 over rigging the Euribor interest rates, took their cases to the country’s highest court after the Court of Appeal dismissed their appeals last year.

The Supreme Court unanimously allowed Mr Hayes’ appeal, overturning his 2015 conviction of eight counts of conspiracy to defraud by manipulating Libor, a now-defunct benchmark interest rate.

Tom Hayes and  Carlo Palombo celebrate after their conviction was overturned.
Pic: Reuters
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Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo celebrate after their convictions were overturned. Pic: Reuters

Ex-vice president of euro rates at Barclays bank Mr Palombo’s conviction for conspiring with others to submit false or misleading Euribor submissions between 2005 and 2009 was also quashed.

Mr Hayes, who served five and a half years in prison before being released on licence in 2021, described the “incredible feeling” after the ruling.

“My faith in the criminal justice system at times was likely destroyed and it has been restored by the justices from the Supreme Court today and I think it’s only right that more criminal appeals should be heard at this level,” he said.

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Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo celebrate after their conviction was overturned.
Pic: Reuters
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Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo outside the Supreme Court. Pic: Reuters

Both he and Mr Palombo have been described as “scapegoats” for the 2008 financial crisis, but Mr Hayes said: “We literally had nothing to do with it.”

A spokesperson for the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), which opposed the appeals, said it would not be seeking a retrial.

In 2012, the SFO began criminal investigations into traders it suspected of manipulating the Libor and Euribor benchmark interest rates.

Former trader Tom Hayes.
Pic: PA
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Former trader Tom Hayes. Pic: PA

Mr Hayes was the first person to be prosecuted by the SFO, which brought prosecutions against 20 people between 2013 and 2019, seven of whom were convicted at trial, two pleaded guilty and 11 were acquitted.

He had also been facing criminal charges in the US but these were dismissed after two other men involved in a similar case had their convictions reversed in 2022.

Mr Hayes, a gifted mathematician who is autistic, was described at his Southwark Crown Court trial as the “ringmaster” at the centre of an enormous fraud to manipulate benchmark interest rates and boost his own six-figure earnings.

He has always maintained that the Libor rates he requested fell within a permissible range and that his conduct was common at the time and condoned by bosses.

Mr Hayes and Mr Palombo argued their convictions depended on a definition of Libor and Euribor which assumes there is an absolute legal bar on a bank’s commercial interests being taken into account when setting rates.

The panel of five Supreme Court justices found there was “ample evidence” for a jury to convict the two men if it had been properly directed.

But in an 82-page judgment, Lord Leggatt said jury direction errors made both convictions unsafe, adding: “That misdirection undermined the fairness of the trial.”

Lawyers representing Mr Hayes and Mr Palombo said the ruling could open the door for the seven others found guilty to have their convictions overturned and that there were grounds for a public inquiry.

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Two dead after shooting in Northern Ireland

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Two dead after shooting in Northern Ireland

Two people have died and two are seriously injured after a shooting in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland.

Police have cordoned off the scene in the village of Maguiresbridge, about 75 miles (120km) southwest of Belfast.

“We can advise there is no ongoing risk to the public,” a Police Service of Northern Ireland spokesperson said.

There was no mention of a motive behind the shooting, but Jemma Dolan, a member of the Northern Ireland Assembly from the area, called it “a domestic incident” in a post on social media.

Emergency services were called to the shooting in the Drummeer Road area of the village at 8.21am on Wednesday, a spokesperson for the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service said.

They confirmed that two people have been injured.

“Following assessment and initial treatment at scene, one patient has been taken to the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast, by air ambulance and another to South West Acute Hospital by ambulance,” the spokesperson added.

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Drummeer Road is currently closed, police said, warning that this could lead to delays on alternative roads.

Maguiresbridge

Sinn Fein MP Pat Cullen has expressed her deep shock over the shooting, saying: “Firstly, my thoughts are with the victims and their families at this tragic time.

“I am in contact with the police around this ongoing situation. Police are currently at the scene of an incident outside Maguiresbridge and there are a number of road closures while they carry out their investigations.”

The Fermanagh and South Tyrone MP asked people “not to speculate on the details of this tragic and shocking incident”.

DUP MLA Deborah Erskine, who represents the area in the Northern Ireland Assembly, said that the community was “stunned” by the shooting in “a rural, quiet area.”

“Everyone is deeply affected by what has happened this morning,” she said.

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Diana Armstrong, MLA for Fermanagh and South Tyrone, called the shooting “heartbreaking and distressing”.

“The loss of life and the serious injuries reported have shocked the local community,” she said in a statement on X.

“My thoughts are with the families of those affected and with everyone in the community as they come to terms with this tragedy.”

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Black Sabbath, Elton John and Rod Stewart among music giants paying tribute to Ozzy Osbourne

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Black Sabbath, Elton John and Rod Stewart among music giants paying tribute to Ozzy Osbourne

Black Sabbath have paid tribute to their former frontman Ozzy Osbourne after the megastar died at the age of 76.

Osbourne’s death on Tuesday morning was announced in a statement, which said he died surrounded by his family.

His death came just weeks after he reunited with his Black Sabbath bandmates – Tony Iommi, Terence “Geezer” Butler and Bill Ward – and performed a huge farewell concert for fans.

The band paid tribute to him on Instagram by sharing an image of Osbourne on stage at the farewell gig in Birmingham and writing “Ozzy Forever”.

Ozzy Osbourne’s life in pictures

Iommi, the band’s lead guitarist, said he was in disbelief at the news.

“It’s just such heartbreaking news that I can’t really find the words, there won’t ever be another like him. Geezer, Bill and myself have lost our brother.”

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Watch: Ozzy’s last concert

Butler, Black Sabbath’s bassist and primary lyricist, thanked Osbourne for “all those years – we had some great fun”.

He said: “Four kids from Aston – who’d have thought, eh? So glad we got to do it one last time, back in Aston. Love you.”

The original drummer for Black Sabbath, Bill Ward, posted a picture of him and Osbourne on Facebook saying: “Where will I find you now? In the memories, our unspoken embraces, our missed phone calls, no, you’re forever in my heart.”

Ozzy Osbourne salutes the crowd with his wife Sharon during the 46th Annual Grammy Awards. Pic: AP
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Osbourne with his wife Sharon during the 46th Annual Grammy Awards. Pic: AP

Sir Elton John described Osbourne as his “dear friend” and a “huge trailblazer” who “secured his place in the pantheon of rock gods”.

“He was also one of the funniest people I’ve ever met,” the singer wrote on Instagram.

Ronnie Wood, of The Rolling Stones, wrote: “I am so very sad to hear of the death of Ozzy Osbourne. What a lovely goodbye concert he had at Back To The Beginning in Birmingham.”

Born John Michael Osbourne on 3 December 1948 in Aston, Birmingham, he became known as the godfather of heavy metal.

The self-styled Prince of Darkness pioneered the music genre with Black Sabbath before going on to have huge success in his own right.

He was famous for hits including Iron Man, Paranoid, War Pigs, Crazy Train and Changes, both with the band and as a solo star.

Legendary American heavy metal band Metallica shared an image of them with Osbourne from 1986 along with an emoji of a broken heart.

Posting on Instagram, Sir Rod Stewart said: “Sleep well, my friend. I’ll see you up there – later rather than sooner.”

Queen guitarist Sir Brian May said he was “grateful I was able to have a few quiet words” with Osbourne after his farewell show at Villa Park three weeks ago.

He said the world will miss the singer’s “unique presence and fearless talent”.

Foo Fighters said in a social media post: “Rock and Roll would not be as loud or as fun” without Osbourne, while Led Zeppelin front man Robert Plant wrote he had “truly changed the planet of rock”.

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