News Search Search this site or the web powered by FreeFind Site search Web search Story archive		January 23, 2004, Friday, Scotsman PM UNDER FIRE FOR MOD'S GBP3BN WASTE Gethin Chamberlain And Jason Beattie TONY Blair was at the centre of a fresh political storm last night after it emerged that the Ministry of Defence had "wasted" GBP 3billion on major projects, while failing to provide frontline troops in Iraq with basic safety equipment. The revelation came after The Scotsman revealed that the Black Watch went into battle in Iraq without the equipment needed to survive a chemical, biological or nuclear attack by Saddam Hussein. With Labour struggling to contain the growing row over the provision of vital kit ahead of the war, one Conservative MP claimed the Prime Minister had sacrificed British troops for political appeasement. Last night, the MoD confirmed that it was considering a U-turn on the buying of essential military equipment, with plans to abandon its controversial "just -in-time" policy in favour of a return to stockpiling. The move, advocated by Lieutenant-Colonel James Cowan, the commanding officer of the Black Watch, in The Scotsman, comes after intense criticism of a policy that left British soldiers ill-equipped for war. A shortage of enhanced combat body armour has been blamed for the death of Sergeant Stephen Roberts, who was killed when he was hit during rioting in the Iraqi town of al-Zubayr. To the embarrassment of the government, a report today reveals that billions of pounds of defence cash that could have been spent on purchasing vital equipment for troops in the Gulf was wasted on expensive military projects, including the ill-fated Eurofighter. The study, by the National Audit Office, which has already criticised the supply of equipment to troops in the Gulf, says that costs in the past year had increased by GBP 3.1billion, and delays in the projected completion of projects had also increased. A senior MoD official admitted yesterday that the spending overruns would have had implications for other areas of the defence budget, including the ability to purchase advanced body armour and other essential equipment. "We have got to strike a balance," he said. Lt-Col Cowan drew attention to the problems inherent in the government's policy of waiting until the last minute to buy equipment, which he attributed to the potential political ramifications of being seen to be purchasing equipment for a war against Iraq. He suggested a solution to the problem was to revert to the old system, where equipment was stockpiled at depots in the UK. One senior military figure said it was already accepted that in future all troops would have to be issued with combat body armour as part of their personal kit, to avoid the damaging rows that have dogged the government. He added that some equipment, including desert boots and vehicle parts, were still arriving in Iraq nearly a year after they had been ordered. That equipment is immediately being sent back and put into stockpiles in the UK. Dr Bob Spink, a Conservative MP - one of several MPs to raise The Scotsman's revelations in the Commons yesterday - said troops had been denied equipment because the government had delayed placing orders "in order to quell their own back-bench revolt on the war. In other words, soldiers were sacrificed for political appeasement by this discredited government." In a separate intervention, Nicholas Soames, the shadow defence secretary, demanded the government account for its "monstrous failings" in the run-up to the war. He said: "The story in The Scotsman quoting the commanding officer of the Black Watch confirms our main criticism of the government - a political decision was taken not to order equipment, or to be seen preparing for war, while debate continued at the UN United Nations Security Council and in parliament. "This act of negligence on the part of the government rendered the military impotent to put in place the necessary full range of equipment across the board in order to prosecute a major land campaign."
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