Labour Friends of the Forces

By Kevan Jones MP, Shadow Armed Forces Minister.

With a humiliating u-turn on the aircraft carrier programme completed, Philip Hammond took the brave step of claiming the Defence budget is balanced over the next ten years. The triumphalism was predictably cheered on his own benches. His problem, however, is that not even they are convinced, since ministers’ mistakes have eroded confidence in their handling of defence.

Let’s remember the time-consuming and expensive aircraft carrier debacle. Ministers have reverted to purchasing the fast jets earmarked by the previous Labour Government after deriding our plans as a ‘mistake’. Hammond’s sole argument is that the facts have changed, but in truth he has changed his mind after examining the facts.

The Public Accounts Committee warned of the rising cost of the Government’s policy. The National Audit Office warned that the Government had an ‘immature understanding’ of costs. The Defence Select Committee warned against strategic shrinkage. Ministers failed to heed these multiple warnings. Continue reading →

Kevan Jones MP, Labour’s Shadow Armed Forces Minister, commenting on the Public Accounts Committee report “Ministry of Defence: Managing Change in the Defence Workforce”, said:

“This is a damning condemnation of the Government’s reform programme.

“The rushed defence review put savings before strategy with damaging consequences.

“Ministers’ decisions mean the MoD is losing key skills, morale is in freefall and taxpayers’ money is being wasted. Continue reading →

Jim Murphy MP, Labour’s Shadow Defence Secretary, said in response to Philip Hammond’s interview in the Daily Telegraph today:

“The defence community will be dismayed that history is being dismissed.

“Defence is about more than inputs, outputs and spreadsheets. It is also about people, tradition and pride.

“Philip Hammond seems either oblivious or uncaring about the historic ties that many communities have to Army units and vice versa.

“The country will want confidence the Defence Secretary is doing all possible to preserve important historic legacies. More has got to be done to end this uncertainty and worry.

“The Army is currently ‘top heavy’ and the Government must go further than planned to cut the numbers of senior officers to tackle imbalance.

“Savings have to be made and Army restructuring is required, but Ministers must do so in way that makes our Forces more efficient while respecting longstanding ties.”