The antics of that wonderful radio comedy “The Navy Lark” appear to have been re-enacted in real life in the Gulf last week.
Royal Navy minehunter HMS Chiddingfold sailed backwards into HMS Bangor because a “wiring error” in the former meant that pressing the full-ahead lever caused it go full astern. The ship had recently been inspected by the Maritime Capability, Trials and Assessment team. Grant Shapps, the defence secretary claims that the incident “does not reflect incompetence.” ( Royal navy warships crashed after ‘faulty wiring,’ Guardian 22January.)
The incident
adds embarrassing (and presumably expensive)
credence to the view of former BBC Two
business editor Paul Mason, writng the The New European,
that “We’re trying to be a global military power on the cheap – and it shows.”
Masons article was probably written before the navy lark incident, and the ships concerned may not be the ones he refers to. But according to him the Royal Navy has 11 Type 23 frigates, and of these only seven are currently active. The others need “maintenance and upgrade.” Of eight Type 26 frigates being built in Glasgow, only one will be ready by 2027. The project to upgrade 148 Challenger 2 tanks is “still being costed.” Over-all, “the MoD’s 10 year Equipment plan commits it to spending £17bn it doesn’t have” and recruitment is down by 22% and outnumbered by people leaving.
Personally I’d prefer to emphasise our inadequate care and health services, crumbling schools , inadequate infrastructure, bankrupt local councils and rising numbers of families experiencing destitution as sufficient evidence that in offering tax cuts as a bribe in order to cling on to power the Tories have lost all sense of decency.
But if common humanity does not spell out the reality, maybe the paucity of our defences may appeal to their supporters and bring home the truth.
Sky this morning showed an amazed announcers face when he was told both aircraft carriers did not have enough support ships or crews to set sail to the Red Sea which would have been a CHEAPER way to operate against the Houthies than using the overstreatch RAF.
ReplyDeleteThe Conservatives have DESTROYED everything that this country has.They are threatening our soft power,our institutions all that we value.THEY HAVE TO GO.
I am just reading the chapter on prisons in Rory Stewart's "Politics on the Edge. It is absurd that the government could be even contemplating tax cuts when we are forcing people to live and work in such pointless squalor.
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