Another attempted cover up.

It was to be expected that when the government clearly wished to delay publication of the report into MOD procurement by Bernard Gray there was clearly something big to be concealed from us.

It was almost equally expected that there would be some kind of leak. The BBC received not literary sections, but rather illustratory slides.

Three of the most damaging comments are

1) Project management does not really exist within the department - merely muddle
2) the MOD does not know the price of any kit.
3) The top 40 programmes annually expect an 80% overrun on time and 40% overrun on cost, because the MOD can't afford to pay for the projects on schedule. (The decision to delay the super-carriers will add a further £1.1 billion to their cost, for example.)

We see illustrations of these, and complaints, from Afghanistan on regular basis. Lives are being lost because of bungling ineptitude.

In the financially straightened circumstances of the near future, and the critical phase of the situation in Afghanistan, some heads need to be knocked together and better controls introduced.