Tri-Service

UKIP: 'MoD Not Fit For Purpose'

UKIP MEP Bill Etheridge: 'MoD Not Fit For Purpose'

The Ministry of Defence is "not fit for purpose", according to the party's defence spokesman.

MEP Bill Etheridge said a report by the National Audit Office into defence funding "should make the government hang their head in shame", after it found the MoD will struggle to afford its spending plans.

The report warned that the government must find £5.8bn in new savings to meet its extra commitments, which include plans to buy new jets, ships and armoured vehicles.

As well as the savings, the report said the MoD was already having to use a £10bn contingency fund set aside for emergencies and warned they had yet to generate £2.5bn of £7.1bn in savings already factored into the plan.

Minister for Defence Procurement Harriett Baldwin said the ministry is delivering an affordable plan.

But Mr Etheridge said:

"For too many years, the job of defending our country has been Cinderella with the ugly sisters of foreign aid and throwing money at unreformed projects soaking up billions of taxpayers money."

"Report after report has shown the Ministry of Defence is not fit for purpose yet Mr Cameron rewarded the Secretary of State for Defence with a knighthood, probably for backing 'remain' in the referendum."

“I welcome the NAO’s report into the Department’s Equipment Plan. SDSR 2015 announced a rising Defence budget and a ten-year £178 billion Equipment Plan which will deliver the best kit for our Armed Forces at the best value for the taxpayer."

"It is clear to me that our Armed Forces are woefully underfunded with rock bottom morale and a crisis in recruitment. We could not defend ourselves against an attack from a country like Russia and we have spent the last few years running down our defences at the expense of tying ourselves into arrangements with other countries, predominantly France, and yet still acting as global policeman following the disastrous Blair doctrine of interfering internationalism."

"It is time defence of the realm was the government's number one priority and that means proper equipment, stopping the harassment of our troops by IHAT and a massive uplift in defence spending."

At the time of the NAO report Ms Baldwin said:

"We are focused on maintaining an affordable programme and delivering the efficiencies we need to reinvest in cutting-edge ships, planes, versatile strike brigades, and greater cyber capabilities, so that our Armed Forces have the equipment they need to keep the UK safe and secure.”

A Ministry of Defence spokesperson, meanwhile, said:

"Britain's defence budget is the biggest in Europe and it is growing as we invest £178 billion as the UK steps up globally, with new ships, submarines and aircraft over the next decade. Working together, Britain's Armed Forces are playing a key role. By driving greater stability abroad and at home Britain will be safer and more secure."