UK defense ministry 'fails troops, wastes taxpayers money,' Labour says
The British Labour Party says the defense ministry has failed the country’s troops and people by wasting billions of dollars of the taxpayers’ money on its military projects over the past decade.
The party said in a report on Wednesday that the Ministry of Defense (MoD) has “wasted” £13 billion ($17.61 billion) of taxpayers’ money on military projects since 2010.
The Labour’s audit of the department's finances, identified 67 cases of "waste," which it says could have been reasonably avoided or reduced by better management.
These cases include cancelled contracts and programs that went over budget, the report said.
It said scrapping plans to upgrade the Warrior armored vehicle wasted £595 million.
Addressing the ministry’s finances, the report said, the UK government is “failing British troops and British taxpayers.”
The department of defense, however, defended itself saying it has to take “tough decisions” to ensure the UK is properly protected against potential threats that might emerge.
"This government is serious about investing in defense modernization to ensure the UK armed forces have the relevant capabilities to face today's threats” the ministry said in a statement.
“That means taking tough decisions to replace old equipment and halt programs that no longer fit requirements,” it added.
This is not the first time the UK defense ministry is accused of wasteful spendings. British National Audit Office and the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee have both previously raised concerns.
In November 2021, the Public Accounts Committee said that the ministry procurement arm was “wasting billions of taxpayers’ money." It also slammed the MoD for “repeated failure” back then.
UK suspends legal assessments of Israeli violations in Gaza
70,000 pro-Palestine people in UK urge London to end arms exports to Israel
Former minister says UK should consider sending troops to Ukraine
Columbia, Yale students bent on ending US support for Israeli genocide
VIDEO | Genocide in Gaza
Iran calls on BRICS to play role in stopping Israeli crimes
President Raeisi’s historic visit opens new chapter in Iran-Pakistan ties
Russia: Poland’s talks on hosting US nuclear weapons ‘dangerous’
VIDEO | Israel’s genocide bounty
India’s home minister vows to end Muslim reservation if his party wins
UN expert calls for arms, oil embargo against Israel
This makes it easy to access the Press TV website
