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18/11/2011
MoD Consultancy Costs £564M
The Ministry of Defence has spent £564 million on consultants, according to figures released on Thursday in the Guardian.
An audit by the Ministry of Defence, acquired under the Freedom of Information Act found "non-existent" controls on the department's budgets, while defence officials had spent £564m on "technical advice".
The ministry's spend on consultancy was just £6 million in 2006, but new guidelines introduced by Labour in 2009 meant that regulation over the use of consultants and special advisers was ended, leading to there runaway use and cost.
The MoD said it was now "tightening the approvals process to ensure proper scrutiny of spending".
The news comes barely a week since the announcement that 2,500 wounded soldiers, including 350 who have lost limbs, would not be exempt from extensive cuts to military personnel.
An internal memo, sent to senior commanders in Afghanistan last week, revealed that 16,500 personnel will be made redundant by April 2015 – more than double the number originally proposed.
(DW)
An audit by the Ministry of Defence, acquired under the Freedom of Information Act found "non-existent" controls on the department's budgets, while defence officials had spent £564m on "technical advice".
The ministry's spend on consultancy was just £6 million in 2006, but new guidelines introduced by Labour in 2009 meant that regulation over the use of consultants and special advisers was ended, leading to there runaway use and cost.
The MoD said it was now "tightening the approvals process to ensure proper scrutiny of spending".
The news comes barely a week since the announcement that 2,500 wounded soldiers, including 350 who have lost limbs, would not be exempt from extensive cuts to military personnel.
An internal memo, sent to senior commanders in Afghanistan last week, revealed that 16,500 personnel will be made redundant by April 2015 – more than double the number originally proposed.
(DW)
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30 April 2008
Jail Term For Ministry of Defence Scam
A company boss who committed fraud against the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has been sentenced to three and a half years in prison. James McLaughlan, 58, from Ayrshire who appeared before Southwark Crown Court admitted to conspiring to defraud the MoD out of £424,923.
Jail Term For Ministry of Defence Scam
A company boss who committed fraud against the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has been sentenced to three and a half years in prison. James McLaughlan, 58, from Ayrshire who appeared before Southwark Crown Court admitted to conspiring to defraud the MoD out of £424,923.
07 December 2006
Army chief blasts Ministry of Defence pay
General Sir Mike Jackson has roundly criticised army pay and conditions during the annual BBC Dimbleby lecture. Sir Mike, who retired as the head of the army in August, said pay was "hardly impressive" and that conditions in some of the accommodation were "shaming." He said that as he was now a civilian he was entitled to have his say in public.
Army chief blasts Ministry of Defence pay
General Sir Mike Jackson has roundly criticised army pay and conditions during the annual BBC Dimbleby lecture. Sir Mike, who retired as the head of the army in August, said pay was "hardly impressive" and that conditions in some of the accommodation were "shaming." He said that as he was now a civilian he was entitled to have his say in public.
01 September 2011
Armed Forces 'Shrinkage By Stealth' – Labour
Labour has hit out at Thursday's announcement that 17,000 military jobs will go by 2015. The first tranche of job losses will affect 930 RAF and 920 Army personnel, while Gurkhas make up most of those in the army who will be told that they have been selected for compulsory redundancy.
Armed Forces 'Shrinkage By Stealth' – Labour
Labour has hit out at Thursday's announcement that 17,000 military jobs will go by 2015. The first tranche of job losses will affect 930 RAF and 920 Army personnel, while Gurkhas make up most of those in the army who will be told that they have been selected for compulsory redundancy.
22 May 2014
British Journalist Released From Ukraine
British journalist Graham Philips has been freed from Ukraine after being detained in Mariupol, eastern Ukraine on Tuesday. The 35-year-old, who is working for the TV station Russia Today, tweeted his followers to say he had been released and was not being charged or deported.
British Journalist Released From Ukraine
British journalist Graham Philips has been freed from Ukraine after being detained in Mariupol, eastern Ukraine on Tuesday. The 35-year-old, who is working for the TV station Russia Today, tweeted his followers to say he had been released and was not being charged or deported.
07 March 2014
Huge First World War Training Ground Rediscovered
Military historians and archaeologists are exploring a newly rediscovered old Ministry of Defence First World War training ground in Hampshire, near Gosport exactly a hundred years after the conflict.
Huge First World War Training Ground Rediscovered
Military historians and archaeologists are exploring a newly rediscovered old Ministry of Defence First World War training ground in Hampshire, near Gosport exactly a hundred years after the conflict.
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