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| Europe |
| General hits out at ’folly of Blair’s military cutbacks |
| 2004-07-09 |
Friday, 9th July 2004 GETHIN CHAMBERLAIN AND JAMES KIRKUP Key points • Claims military cutbacks will increase risk of friendly fire • Rosyth say they need to gain contracts to divert closure • Defence Secretary is expected to announce a forces shake-up Key quote "He has embarked on a greater series of campaigns than any prime minister in recent history. Every time he does that, it is the soldiers, sailors and airmen that bail him out." - Lieutenant General Sir John MacMillan Story in full ONE of Scotland’s most distinguished former soldiers has launched a blistering attack on Tony Blair, accusing the Prime Minister of folly for planning defence cuts at a time when the country is so heavily committed to military campaigns. Lieutenant General Sir John MacMillan, the former General Officer Commanding, Scotland, said the plans to reduce military strength would have a devastating knock-on effect, exposing troops to greater dangers, including an increased risk of friendly fire. And with the government due to announce cuts that are expected to include the loss of at least one Scottish regiment, possibly two, Gen MacMillan questioned whether the risk to Britain’s ability to deal with future threats had been properly thought through. His comments came as defence sources told The Scotsman that Rosyth dockyard faces massive redundancies and even closure if Gordon Brown, the Chancellor, does not find more money for the industry. Worried Scottish Labour MPs have secured a meeting with Adam Ingram, the armed forces minister, next Tuesday to voice their concerns over the proposed cuts. And last night Gen MacMillan, Scotland’s most senior soldier until he retired in 1991, weighed into the campaign to save the threatened regiments with a broadside against Mr Blair. He said the Prime Minister had committed British forces to war during his leadership more heavily than at any time since 1945. "Never can a government department have done more to rescue a prime minister from his folly than the Ministry of Defence," he said. "He has embarked on a greater series of campaigns than any prime minister in recent history. Every time he does that, it is the soldiers, sailors and airmen that bail him out." "Those who have lost their lives in conflicts entered into by this government are unable to speak for themselves, but the rate of operational deployment by all three services in the past ten years has been far beyond anything that has occurred since 1945. I vote for the following as key quote: "Gratitude alone should make defence cuts unthinkable at such a time. And here comes the real key point: "Only the most cynical government would say with one breath that we are involved in a war on terror, and at the same time reduce the armed forces to a state where there is no flexibility at all in their budget to prepare for the development of this very real threat." Gen MacMillan said the number of operational tours that soldiers were now expected to carry out had a major impact on training time, "which leads to the risk of errors such as casualties from friendly fire, and to the pressures from families to cut short a career which puts service before the duties of a parent or husband". That in turn led to a need for training more recruits, a vicious circle that was completed when a lack of funds then prevented the recruits being trained. "The same government has no doubt conducted a threat appraisal, and decided that all foreseen dangers are covered," he continued. "Did they foresee the invasion of Kuwait, the conflicts in the former Yugoslavia, or the need to intervene in Afghanistan or the latest Iraq war?" he asked. "How can they be sure that the unexpected is now covered? The same government will no doubt call for the only men and women who are not subject to the maximum working hours directive, and are not permitted to strike, when the next period of industrial disruption breaks about their ears." Military sources have told The Scotsman that the Royal Scots and the Highlanders are at greatest risk in the cuts, which are due to be announced next week. There have also been warnings from senior officers that all of Scotland’s regiments may have to be rolled up into one super regiment. But last night defence sources revealed that the Rosyth dockyard is also under threat. The Chancellor has been warned that Rosyth’s order book is dangerously thin after current contracts are completed later this year. Executives at Babcock, the yard’s owners, and workers at the yard believe that Rosyth would need to win a contract to overhaul HMS Richmond and at least four others like it to avert potential closure, even though the MoD has recently agreed to share some of the yard’s operating costs. "Some job losses are pretty much inevitable. What we’re talking about is outright closure," said a source close to the debate about Rosyth’s future. Labour MPs and trade unions have been putting pressure on Mr Brown, whose own Dunfermline East constituency is home to many of Rosyth’s 1,800 workers, to find more cash for defence in next week’s spending review. While many at the Fife yard had hoped that a major contract to participate in building the Royal Navy’s next generation of aircraft carriers would secure Rosyth’s future, industry insiders are warning that the work on the carriers may come too late to save the yard. Wrangling over the contract to build the new carriers between the Ministry of Defence and the prime contractor, BAE Systems, means Rosyth is unlikely to see any work until 2007 at the earliest. Some in the defence industry even fear that a combination of spending cuts and problems agreeing the specifications of the carriers could push back the start of construction even further. The Transport and General Workers’ Union, which represents many of the Rosyth workforce, last night said there are "real fears" for the yard because of the gap in the order book. "The protracted wrangling over the final details of the aircraft carrier contract is threatening to open up a hole in Rosyth’s workload causing massive and unnecessary redundancies," said Jack Dromey, the TGWU’s deputy general secretary. "The government should act now to give the go-ahead for the carrier order and for work to Rosyth to tide the yard over until that carrier order starts." Following Monday’s spending review, Geoff Hoon, the Defence Secretary, is expected to announce a wide-ranging shake-up of the armed forces, and experts predict the Royal Navy may suffer particularly badly. A tighter budget will add impetus to a trend within the MoD towards a slimmed-down navy, part of the movement toward a so-called "network-enabled" military based on hi-tech weapons and communications systems. You mean like the ones they want to sell China? |
| Posted by:Zenster |