Today’s defence related news includes coverage of the Defence Secretary’s speech on cyber threats and the news that Phil Shiner has been struck off for misconduct.
Phil Shiner
All major outlets cover this morning the news that lawyer Phil Shiner has been struck off, with the vast majority also carrying the Defence Secretary’s statement.
Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon said:
Justice has finally been served after we took the unprecedented step of submitting evidence on his abuse of our legal system. Phil Shiner made soldiers’ lives a misery by pursuing false claims of torture and murder – now he should apologise. We will study any implications for outstanding legal claims closely.
NATO
The Defence Secretary’s speech at St Andrews is covered in several papers today, and on broadcasts, including The Guardian, Daily Mail, Daily Telegraph, The Times and The Sun.
You can read the Defence Secretary’s full speech here https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/coping-with-russia
Defence Secretary Scotland visit
The Scotsman reports on the Defence Secretary’s announcement that a new training school for naval crews working on the UK’s nuclear submarines has been approved, noting that this boosts the employment figures on the Clyde from 6800 to 8200. The Scotsman also reports that ‘Royal Marines future in Scotland ‘secure’’, following the Defence Secretary’s statement as he watched the 45 Commando begin training for NATO’s ‘very high readiness group.
You can read more about the Royal Marines secure future in Scotland here https://www.gov.uk/government/news/royal-marines-future-secure-in-scotland
You can read more about the shipbuilding in Scotland here https://www.gov.uk/government/news/defence-secretary-hails-global-outlook-of-midlothian-naval-engineers
You can read more about investments in submarine training here https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-invests-in-new-submarine-training-school-on-the-clyde
Marine A Video
The release of some of the footage leading up to the Sgt Blackman/Marine A killing is covered in The Telegraph, The Daily Mail and The Times, which notes that judges ruled against releasing the actual killing, but that the MOD agreed to release certain clips.
An MOD spokesperson said:
The court has agreed with our concerns over publicly releasing parts of this footage – the safety of our Armed Forces is of paramount importance and it would be threatened if these clips were misused to radicalise others and incite acts of violence.
Image of the day
