UK’s ability to arm itself ‘is broken’ amid increasing security threats, MPs warn
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.
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.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
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).”
Click to subscribe to the Sky News Daily wherever you get your podcasts
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”.
A man has been arrested by police investigating a “significant” wildfire that triggered a major incident in Northern Ireland.
More than 100 firefighters and 15 fire appliances were deployed on Saturday to Sandbank Road, Hilltown, to tackle the blaze which is believed to have been caused deliberately, fire chiefs said.
Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS) said the fire had a front of approximately two miles “including a large area of forestry close to property”.
It was extinguished at 2.53am on Sunday and the major incident status lifted, the NIFRS said.
“The cause of this fire is believed to have been deliberate,” chief fire and rescue officer Aidan Jennings said.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland said on Sunday that a 25-year-old man had been arrested “on suspicion of arson being reckless as to whether life would be endangered, and non-related driving offences”.
“He remains in custody at this time as enquiries continue into the circumstances surrounding the fire,” the force added.
The wildfire on Sandbank Road, Hilltown. Pic: Sky Watch NI
More than 100 firefighters were at the scene of the fire. Pic: Sky Watch NI
Various fires erupted across England this week amid uncharacteristically warm and dry conditions for the time of year.
On Saturday, helicopters were deployed to tackle Scotland’s fourth wildfire this week, with police saying a blaze “which started in the Newton Stewart area has spread northwards and is expected to reach the Loch Doon area of East Ayrshire around 12am on Sunday”.
Police Scotland added: “As a precautionary measure members of the public are asked to avoid the Loch Doon area and anyone who may be camping in the area is advised to leave.”
Moors Valley Country Park blackened by fires this week
Elsewhere in England, Devon and Cornwall Police said they were assisting the fire service with temporary road closures on the A30 in the Bolventor area as they tackle “a number of fires” on moorland.
In Dorset, Moors Valley Country Park was forced to close after multiple wildfires broke out there on Wednesday.
Read more from Sky News:
Zelenskyy makes dig at US over its response to Russian attack
What hopes are there for the future of Prince Harry’s charity?
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Wildfires spread across nature reserve
Separate incidents were then reported at Upton Heath in Poole on Wednesday, and nearby Canford Heath in the early hours of Thursday.
Friday was officially the warmest day of the year so far – with temperatures in the south of England reaching 23C (73.4F) – the highest since 21 September last year, according to the Met Office.
The weather conditions triggered a “severe” wildfire rating for parts of the UK on Tuesday.
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business3 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway