Defence in the Media 28 January 2016
Of interest to Defence in the newspapers, The Guardian and Independent lead this morning on concerns over British involvement in the Saudi-led campaign in Yemen amid calls for a suspension of British arms sales to Saudi Arabia. It comes as a leaked UN report accuses the Saudi operation of contravening humanitarian law.
IHAT
There are reports in The Sun and Daily Telegraph following Armed Forces Minister Penny Mordaunt’s speech at a Westminster Hall debate on the IHAT yesterday. The papers report on case studies highlighted by the Minister as she called law firms hounding our troops “the enemy of justice and humanity”. Both papers report that lawyers tried to pin the death of an Iraqi on British soldiers 11 years after Danish forces accepted responsibility. The story is also covered by the Mail Online. Read the full version of the Minister’s speech after the debate last night here.
SAUDI ARABIA / YEMEN
The Guardian reports on the alleged role of British military personnel in the Saudi-led bombing campaign of Yemen. The article says the UK has been “furtive” about its role in the bombing campaign, and that earlier this month Saudi Arabia revealed that UK and US staff were in the command and control centre where bombing operations are directed.
Separately, The Independent reports that the UK has been urged to suspend all arms sales to the country immediately amid fears that British-made weapons are being used for attacks on civilians in Yemen. The paper writes that Britain is a leading arms supplier to the Saudi regime and has military personnel working with Saudi forces on the ground, although the UK Government says its officials only work in a “liaison” role and do not assist in the selection of targets.
A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said:
UK military personnel are not directly involved in Saudi-led Coalition operations. We are offering Saudi Arabia advice and training on best practice targeting techniques to help ensure continued compliance with international humanitarian law.
STEEL
The Daily Mirror writes that thousands of tonnes of foreign steel has been used to build the Royal Navy’s new aircraft carriers. The article says that 6% of the steel used in the Queen Elizabeth-class ships came from overseas. Our response to this story is below, along with a cross-Government statement on using British steel suppliers for public sector contracts.
A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said:
94% of the steel used to build the two aircraft carriers that this government is bringing into service came from UK steel mills. The rest was specialist steel which could not be sourced here in the UK.
A Government spokesperson said:
No-one should be in any doubt that – across all of Government’s major procurements – we are working hard to make sure that wherever possible, British steel suppliers have a fighting chance of competing for and winning contracts. UK suppliers have provided significant quantities of steel for major defence equipment procurement programmes and new government guidelines will help UK steel suppliers to compete effectively with international suppliers for major projects, including those in defence.
SINGLE SOURCE REGULATIONS OFFICE
The Financial Times reports on the SSRO first annual compliance report. The article suggests that companies chosen as sole suppliers of military equipment could be overcharging the UK government by up to £26m.
A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said:
We always work to deliver best value for the tax payer and we have been implementing new regulations to ensure that we get the best deal possible when working with single source suppliers. The establishment of our Single Source Advisory Team within the MOD will further enable us to build on the progress we have made so far.
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