Armed Forces Pay Rise And MOD Privatisation Plans

Pay Rise For Armed Forces, Reports Suggest

It is reported that members of the Armed Forces are in line to get a 2.9% pay rise.

The Times newspaper claims two million public service workers will see an increase. It reports the Treasury will unveil the biggest public sector pay rise for six years on Monday before Theresa May's tenure as Prime Minister comes to an end.

Speaking to Forces News, the Defence Secretary Penny Mordaunt said improved pay was one of her priorities before the new Prime Minister is announced.

Public sector pay rises were capped at 1% after the Conservative-led coalition came to power in 2010, but the cap was scrapped last year.

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Fire And Rescue Privatisation Goes Ahead

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has confirmed a controversial £525 million contract with outsourcing firm Capita, which will privatise large parts of its fire and rescue service.

The deal will see Capita take over operations at 53 fire stations in the UK and at MOD sites in Cyprus and the Falkland Islands.

The 12-year contract is understood to be one of the largest outsourcing contracts handed out by the Government over the past 18 months.

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UK To Make Decision On Iranian Ship

British and Gibraltarian authorities must decide today whether to impound Grace 1 and its cargo permanently or hand it back to its Iranian owners.

On Thursday, the US demanded the immediate release of another tanker and its crew, seized by Iran's Revolutionary Guards in the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, for allegedly smuggling one million litres of fuel. 

The US also says it destroyed an Iranian drone in the Gulf, after what it called "hostile" action against an American ship.