Latest Press Releases
| LABOUR ADMISSION NO CONSOLATION FOR DEFENCE COMMUNITIES |
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| Thursday, 22 September 2011 00:00 |
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An admission by the Labour party over its failure to manage defence budgets and key procurement programmes has been described as an ‘understatement’ and of ‘no consolation’ to service personnel and defence communities who have paid the price of Labour’s mismanagement.
Commenting on the admission, which comes as Labour published a party review on defence, SNP Westminster leader and Defence spokesperson
Angus Robertson MP said: “ It’s not an admission but an apology that we need to hear from Labour for their mismanagement of defence budgets and procurement over more than a decade. “ Jim Murphy’s comments are an understatement, and certainly no consolation to service personnel who now face redundancy and communities that have been left reeling as bases face closure. “ The fact is that we are still living with the consequences of Labour’s defence disasters which, despite the extraordinary overspending by the MoD on defence projects, still saw 10,500 defence job losses in Scotland and a £5.6billionunderspend over the last decade. “ Just this week it emerged the Ministry of Defence spent more than £70million on official entertainment under the last Labour Government while frontline forces complained that they had not been provided with basic kit. “ Whether it is Labour or the Tories in government, the UK has been making really bad decisions for defence in Scotland which leaves big capability gaps. We should make better defence decisions in Scotland and not leave it to London.” |
