SNP MP CRITICISES DEFENCE ACQUISITION REFORM ANNOUNCENMENT

Martyn Day, MP for Linlithgow and East Falkirk, made his comments in the wake of the statement by James Cartlidge, minister for defence procurement, on the government’s plans for reform of the Ministry of Defence’s (MOD) acquisition system.

A key plank of the reforms is the "Integrated Procurement Model", which aims to enhance military competitiveness against escalating global threats.

This strategic move seeks to address longstanding issues of over-complexity, budget overruns, and delays in procurement processes, further strained by recent supply chain disruptions.

Martyn Day said: “The Minister’s statement was inadequate and full of black holes and glaring omissions. He seems to have overlooked a number of key issues.

“The statement failed to address the fact that the MOD faces a £16.9 billion black hole in equipment funding, and to guarantee that we will be able to meet the requirements for essentials contributions to both NATO and Ukraine during this time of conflict.

“Also missing were any details of the post-Brexit defence sector labour shortages, and how the Government plan to address these shortages in order to support the sector."

Mr Day added: “Clearly, there is no overall strategic thinking other than a continual form of panicked cost control to try and address the billions of pounds of taxpayers' money which has been wasted as a result of the Tories legacy of disastrous defence procurement.”