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The Ministry of Defence must admit its ability to arm the military is broken and urgently needs fixing at a time of growing security threats, a group of MPs has warned.

The damning verdict emerged as Ben Wallace, who has overseen the department for the past four years as the longest-serving Conservative defence secretary, revealed in an interview with the Sunday Times that he would leave government in the autumn.

“In short, it is broke – and it’s time to fix it,” a sub-committee of parliament’s defence select committee said in a report published on Sunday following a six-month inquiry into defence procurement.

The MPs said they had “discovered a UK procurement system which is highly bureaucratic, overly stratified, far too ponderous, with an inconsistent approach to safety, very poor accountability and a culture which appears institutionally averse to individual responsibility”.

Mark Francois, a Conservative MP and former defence minister who led the work, said: “This is a dysfunctional system that has left multiple programmes floundering in its wake. This urgently needs to change.”

The criticisms are not new – multiple reports over decades have raised alarm bells about the latest iteration of what is called Defence, Equipment and Support (DE&S), the branch of MoD tasked with buying everything from warships to boots.

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The MPs, who heard evidence from multiple expert witnesses, listed various of the latest procurement debacles – each one sharing the same old characteristics of either running late, suffering from increased costs or seeing the contract meddled with before it has even been delivered – or a combination of these features.

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Ukraine in NATO will make world ‘vulnerable’, says Putin

However, this latest document was drawn up against the backdrop of Russia’s war in Ukraine, with the very real potential for escalation into a full-blown conflict involving the UK and its NATO allies.

“For the first time since the end of the Cold War, we have to face the prospect that we could become involved in a peer conflict with Russia, with little further strategic warning or opportunity to scale up our industrial, as well as military capabilities,” the MPs said.

“In this new, more challenging environment we need a defence procurement system which can not only equip our Armed Forces to fight and to win, but also sustain them over time, should any such conflict become protracted (as in Ukraine).”

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The programmes comprised the Royal Navy’s Type 23 frigate, the Royal Air force’s E-7 Wedgetail surveillance aircraft and the Army’s Ajax armoured fighting vehicle.

Read more:
Why Ben Wallace’s days were numbered?
Johnson calls for NATO timetable for Ukraine to join alliance

Military procurement failures hindered UK’s ability to secure tanks, review finds

“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,” the MPs said.

Their report made 22 recommendations to fix the problem, including the need for the MoD to adopt a sense of urgency that has in the past enabled speedy, successful procurements in a crisis to become the norm.

It said the MoD needed a system that “places a much greater value on time, promotes a sense of urgency rather than institutional lethargy, and prevents endless ‘requirements creep’ by our own military”.

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Labour MP Dan Norris arrested on suspicion of rape and child sex offences

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Labour MP Dan Norris arrested on suspicion of rape and child sex offences

Labour MP Dan Norris has been arrested on suspicion of rape and child sex offences.

A Labour Party spokesperson said: “Dan Norris MP was immediately suspended by the Labour Party upon being informed of his arrest.

“We cannot comment further while the police investigation is ongoing.”

Police said a man in his 60s had been arrested on Friday on suspicion of sexual offences against a girl, rape, child abduction and misconduct in a public office.

Sky News has contacted Mr Norris for comment.

Mr Norris, 65, defeated Jacob Rees-Mogg to win the new seat of North East Somerset and Hanham in last year’s general election.

He has also lost the party whip in the House of Commons and has stepped down from his role as chair of the League Against Cruel Sports.

Avon and Somerset Police said in a statement: “In December 2024, we received a referral from another police force relating to alleged non-recent child sex offences having been committed against a girl.

“Most of the offences are alleged to have occurred in the 2000s, but we’re also investigating an alleged offence of rape from the 2020s.

“An investigation, led by officers within Operation Bluestone, our dedicated rape and serious sexual assault investigation team, remains ongoing and at an early stage.

“The victim is being supported and given access to any specialist help or support she needs.

“A man, aged in his 60s, was arrested on Friday (April 4) on suspicion of sexual offences against a girl (under the Sexual Offences Act 1956), rape (under the Sexual Offences Act 2003), child abduction and misconduct in a public office. He’s been released on conditional bail for enquiries to continue.

“This is an active and sensitive investigation, so we’d respectfully ask people not to speculate on the circumstances so our enquiries can continue unhindered.”

Mr Norris first entered Parliament when Tony Blair came to power in 1997 and served as the Wansdyke MP until 2010.

He was an assistant whip under Mr Blair and served as a junior minister under Gordon Brown.

Mr Norris has also been West of England mayor since 2021 but is due to step down ahead of May’s local elections.

A spokesman for the League Against Cruel Sports, a UK-based animal welfare charity which campaigns to end sports such as fox hunting and game bird shooting, confirmed he had stepped down from his role.

“The charity cannot comment further while an investigation is ongoing,” a statement said.

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Jaguar Land Rover to ‘pause’ US shipments over Donald Trump tariffs

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Jaguar Land Rover to 'pause' US shipments over Donald Trump tariffs

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has said it will “pause” shipments to the US as the British car firm works to “address the new trading terms” of Donald Trump’s tariffs.

The US president has introduced a 25% levy on all foreign cars imported into the country, which came into force on Thursday.

JLR, one of the country’s biggest carmakers, exported about 38,000 cars to the US in the third quarter of 2024 – almost equal to the amount sold to the UK and the EU combined.

Follow live updates: Trump’s baseline 10% tariff kicks in

In a statement on Saturday, a spokesperson for the company behind the Jaguar, Land Rover and Range Rover brands said: “The USA is an important market for JLR’s luxury brands.

“As we work to address the new trading terms with our business partners, we are taking some short-term actions including a shipment pause in April, as we develop our mid- to longer-term plans.”

The company released a statement last week before Mr Trump announced a “baseline” 10% tariff on goods from around the world, which kicked in on Saturday morning, on what he called “liberation day”.

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JLR reassured customers its business was “resilient” and “accustomed to changing market conditions”.

“Our priorities now are delivering for our clients around the world and addressing these new US trading terms,” the firm said.

Trading across the world has been hit by Mr Trump’s tariff announcement at the White House on Wednesday.

All but one stock on the FTSE 100 fell on Friday – with Rolls-Royce, banks and miners among those to suffer the sharpest losses.

Read more: A red wall on Wall Street – but Trump seems to believe it will work out

Cars are the top product exported from the UK to the US, with exports worth £8.3bn in the year to the end of September 2024, according to data from the Office for National Statistics.

For UK carmakers, the US is the second largest export market behind the European Union.

Industry groups have previously warned the tariffs will force firms to rethink where they trade, while a report by thinktank the Institute for Public Policy Research said more than 25,000 car manufacturing jobs in the UK could be at risk.

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Two people die after caravan fire at holiday park in Lincolnshire

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Two people die after caravan fire at holiday park in Lincolnshire

Two people have died following a fire at a caravan site near Skegness, Lincolnshire Police have said.

In a statement, officers said they were called at 3.53am on Saturday to a report of a blaze at Golden Beach Holiday Park in the village of Ingoldmells.

Fire and rescue crews attended the scene, and two people were found to have died.

They were reported to be a 10-year-old girl and a 48-year-old man.

The force said the victims’ next of kin have been informed and will be supported by specially trained officers.

Officers are trying to establish the exact cause of the blaze.

“We are at the very early stages of our investigation and as such we are keeping an open mind,” the force said.

Two fire crews remain at the scene.

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