Defence-related stories in today's newspapers include continued coverage of the military spending debate and suspected traffickers being seized as a result of the latest migrant rescue by HMS Bulwark.
HMS Bulwark
It is widely reported, including in The Sun, The Telegraph and Daily Mail, that five suspected traffickers were seized yesterday hiding among 1,200 rescued migrants on the HMS Bulwark. The men were handed to Italian police when the ship docked at Catania, Sicily. The Times reports that last month another four Libyan men, also trying to blend in with the migrants, were arrested on Bulwark on suspicion of people smuggling after a “sharp-eyed” sailor spotted them suspiciously taking photographs on their phones.
Captain Nick Cooke-Priest, the Commander of HMS Bulwark, said that his ship was coming across the debris of vessels every day, with no trace of the people they had been carrying. The Defence Secretary Michael Fallon has said it is important that we go to the root cause of the problem and to the trafficking gangs behind it, who are making money out of human misery.
Defence spending
The Telegraph has reported that foreign aid could be classified as part of the military budget following an answer given by the Defence Secretary during oral questions in Parliament yesterday. According to the Times, the suggestion “triggered anger” amongst some and reported that this would amount to “creative ways” that the Treasury could meet the target.
The Defence Secretary’s responses during oral questions can be found here.
Meanwhile The Telegraph, Daily Mail, and Daily Mirror report that Prime Minister David Cameron has defended the Government's stance on military spending yesterday, quoting him as saying it is “nonsense” that the country’s military capabilities are “shrinking”. Speaking at the G7 summit in Germany, the Prime Minister denounced claims that Britain will have a diminished role in the world if it does not increase its military budget. Mr Cameron insisted that Britain currently meets the 2% target and that decisions about spending will not be taken until a spending review in the Autumn.
Brecon Beacons inquest
There is coverage of the sixth day of the inquest into the deaths of three Reservists who died during a selection exercise in the Brecon Beacons in 2013. The Telegraph and the Daily Mirror report that Cpl James Dunsby, who collapsed from heat exhaustion near a main road and later died, was said to have been moving “between running and a fast walk” on the final leg of the 16-mile march. The Guardian reports that it may have taken as long as 52 minutes for soldiers to get to Cpl Dunsby after he collapsed. The MOD continues to co-operate fully with the coroner and the inquest is expected to last for several weeks.
Military fire service
The Financial Times reports that the MOD has asked some of Britain's biggest companies to bid to run the military's fire and rescue services. The deal would include the management of 65 defence fire stations in the UK and 13 overseas including Germany, Cyprus, Gibraltar, the Falkland Islands and Ascension Island.
We are considering a range of options and are inviting representatives from industry to propose how they could deliver the globally deployable service, currently provided by the Defence Fire Risk Management Organisation.
The Duke of Edinburgh - accompanied by First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir George Zambellas - was on board HMS Ranger while he conducted a review of 200 vessels owned by Squadron members off Cowes.