UK’s NATO commitments threatened by ‘broken’ military procurement programme
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.”
Partners of a company linked to Baroness Michelle Mone have said they are open to a possible settlement with the government after the company was found to have breached a £122m PPE contract.
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) had accused PPE Medpro of providing 25 million “faulty”, non-sterile gowns during the COVID pandemic.
The High Court ruled earlier this month that it must pay back a £121.9m sum, the price of the gowns.
PPE Medpro, a consortium led by Lady Mone‘s husband Doug Barrowman, filed to enter administration earlier this month.
In a statement on Friday, Mr Barrowman said: “The consortium partners of PPE Medpro are prepared to enter into a dialogue with the administrators of the company to discuss a possible settlement with the government.”
PPE Medpro has spent £4.3m defending its position.
It said offers to settle on a no-fault basis had been made, including the remake of 25 million gowns, or a £23m cash equivalent, which were rejected.
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Sky’s Paul Kelso analyses scandal surrounding Baroness Mone
The consortium was awarded government contracts by the former Conservative administration to supply personal protective equipment (PPE) during the pandemic after Lady Mone recommended it to ministers.
It insists that it provided all 25 million gowns and disputes that the gowns were not sterile.
It is understood the partners want to resolve the issue, and administrators have been urged to approach the government to reach an agreement.
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In the High Court ruling, Mrs Justice Cockerill said the gowns “were not, contractually speaking, sterile, or properly validated as being sterile”. This meant they could not be used in the NHS.
Barristers for PPE Medro claimed it had been “singled out for unfair treatment” and accused the government of “buyer’s remorse”.
Michelle Mone recommended the firm, led by husband Doug Barrowman, to minsters. Pic: PA
It claimed the gowns had become defective because of the conditions they were kept in after being delivered. It also said the court made its ruling on a technicality.
Lady Mone branded the judgement a win for the “establishment”, while Mr Barrowman said it was a “travesty of justice”.
Baroness Mone, who created the lingerie brand Ultimo, was made a Conservative peer in 2015.
She now says she has “no wish to return” to the House of Lords.
Liz Hurley has encouraged women to check themselves for breast cancer – and warned some are not because they “are scared that it’s self-indulgent to spend time on themselves”.
The British actress and model, who has been a global ambassador for the Estee Lauder Companies’ Breast Cancer Campaign for 30 years, told Sky News’ Jacquie Beltrao the demands of everyday life mean women “always put ourselves last”.
“We’re doing stuff for kids, for husbands, for mothers, for in-laws. There’s so much that we have to do that we tend to come last,” she said.
Hurley, whose grandmother died of breast cancer, said she finds it helps by thinking of breast checks as a way to “keep ourselves healthy in order to continue to take care of everybody else”.
That way, it “doesn’t seem self-indulgent or taking time away from something else, it seems really important”.
Checking one’s breasts “takes two minutes”, she added, or “about the same length of time as brushing your teeth”.
Hurley speaking to Sky’s Jacquie Beltrao
More than a third of women in the UK do not take up the first mammogram appointment they are offered, and a recent study of 500,000 women from Sweden found a similar non-attendance rate there.
More than 11,000 people die from breast cancer every year in the UK, or 31 each day, Cancer Research UK said.
That makes it the second most common form of cancer death, accounting for 7% of all cancer deaths, the charity said.
Asked whether some of the messaging had “fallen on deaf ears”, Hurley said attending screenings, which are free on the NHS, is “definitely advised”, and she suggested all women should familiarise themselves with their breasts.
In the past, the illness was seen as “a disease for older ladies. And we didn’t understand that younger women also get diagnosed. That’s been a lot in the news lately”, Hurley said.
“There appear to be more women, younger women being diagnosed. And that could well be one of the reasons is that people are more breast aware, more self-aware.”
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She told Ms Beltrao, who is a breast cancer survivor, people “have seen you on television talking about breast cancer”.
As a result of more awareness, she said, women have “begun to understand that it can never be too early to start checking your own breasts and to familiarise yourself [with them].
“When you’re younger and you’re not yet having regular mammograms, you do really have to be aware of your own breasts to be able to see if there’s a change, feel if there is a change and go to your doctor.”
The King’s coat of arms will be on the front of all new British passports from December, the Home Office has announced.
The inside pages have also been updated to include images of natural landscapes from all four UK nations, including Ben Nevis, the Lake District, Three Cliffs Bay, and the Giant’s Causeway.
The Home Office said the new passport is the first wholly new design in five years, and it will be the “most secure passport ever produced”.
It will include the latest anti-forgery technology, including new holographic and translucent features.
The updated features will improve verification and make passports significantly more resistant to forgery or tampering, the Home Office said.
The bio page of the new UK passport. Pic: PA
Migration and citizenship minister Mike Tapp said: “The introduction of His Majesty’s arms, iconic landscapes, and enhanced security features marks a new era in the history of the British passport.
“It also demonstrates our commitment to outstanding public service – celebrating British heritage while ensuring our passports remain among the most secure and trusted in the world for years to come.”
The Home Office has confirmed that passports bearing Queen Elizabeth II‘s coat of arms will remain valid until their printed expiry date.
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However, it advised travellers to check their passports’ validity and renew them well in advance of any upcoming trips.
The first modern British passport was introduced over a hundred years ago, in 1915.
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