...the battle was lost

Douglas Carswell, in a message on his blog today, raises the questions of helicopters available to our troops in the battle fields. I blogged on this a few month ago, but it seems that little has changed.

It is bad enough that Apache helicopters are regularly grounded because of the need for repairs and servicing, and front line troops regularly lack the cover these excellent machines provide. They also lack small machine like Gazelles which can take small supplies rapidly to where they are needed, or scout problems ahead.

The greatest scandal is the eight Chinook helicopters, procurement for which began in 1995, and which are still sitting unused in a hangar. The MOD wanted customised features, and demands changed from time to time, so the machines were delivered without being able to incorporate some. The result is that the machines have to be grounded in certain flying conditions.

In the recent report of the Public Accounts Committee the £422 million project, which has provided 8 machines with such limited use that they are still sitting on the ground, there is a damning indictment of the procurement process.

I wonder if the people concerned will receive their usual bonuses, as they have since 1995?