Today’s defence in the media includes tributes to Conor McPherson and news that Carillion has seen an increase in half-year profits and sales.
CONOR MCPHERSON
Tributes to Conor McPherson, who was named yesterday as the soldier to die in a live fire drill at Otterburn training range on Monday night, feature widely across the papers, including in The Guardian, The Daily Mail and The Sun.
His Commanding Officer Lieutenant Alasdair Steele said:
Private McPherson was a capable young soldier who had previously trained in both Kenya and France. He was hugely committed about his career in the Army, he had aspirations to join the Machine Gun platoon and attend a junior leadership course at the start of next year. He constantly drove to develop himself physically and was well liked among his peers for his sharp wit and sense of humour. However, Private McPherson’s true passion was to his parents and his older sister – he was part of a very close knit family, and his great joy was spending time with them at the weekends and over leave. The entire Battalion’s thoughts are very much with his family and friends.
ROYAL MARINE ARRESTED
The arrest of a 30 year-old serving Royal Marine in connection with dissident republican terrorism is reported widely, including in The Guardian(p.8), The Times (p.8), The Telegraph (p.11), The Daily Mail (p.32), The Mirror (p.22) and The Sun (p.6).
An MOD Spokesperson said:
“We are aware of a police investigation involving the arrest of a member of the Armed Forces under the 2000 Terrorism Act and will assist this investigation fully. It would be inappropriate to comment further on an ongoing investigation.”
CARILLION
The Telegraph (p.33) reports that Carillion, the building and maintenance company which maintains the MOD’s estate, has had a surge in half-year profits and sales, and has appointed a new finance boss, Zafar Khan.
UK FISHING INDUSTRY
The Scottish Sun (p.6) reports that the Adam Smith Institute has called for the Prime Minister to use the Navy and the RAF to identify and intercept illegal fishing activity in UK waters, as it calls for new rules to ban foreign boats from fishing in the country.