Ministry denies report cover-up

London: Ministers yesterday denied a cover-up after refusing to publish a report that lays bare billions of pounds of waste by the Ministry of Defence.

It is said to have found £2.5 billion (Dh15.25 billion) is thrown away each year on bungled equipment contracts, from helicopters to aircraft carriers.

The claim is hugely embarrassing because it comes after months of complaints from soldiers and their leaders that troops in Afghanistan were deprived of life-saving armoured vehicles and helicopters due to Whitehall penny-pinching.

It now appears that much greater sums were being squandered on poor handling of major contracts.

Gordon Brown's office is said to have "panicked" over the findings and banned the MoD from carrying out a promise to publish it, according to a Defence official.

The report was commissioned by former defence secretary John Hutton, who wanted to publish it before MPs' summer recess, and written by Bernard Gray, a former aide to ex-defence secretary Lord Robertson.

Among the "incompetent" decisions highlighted in the report is understood to be the construction delay of two aircraft carriers in December because the MoD had run out of money.

Although it postponed the building cost, the ministry had to pay out £500 million in compensation to manufacturers.

Another failure was the purchase of eight Chinook helicopters for special forces at a cost of £422 million. They sat idle in hangars for eight years waiting for alterations and the MoD was eventually forced to obtain less sophisticated aircraft. According to Channel 4 News, Gray warned that up to a third of MoD procurements were underfunded.

Defence Minister Kevan Jones denied suppressing the report and said its findings would be used for a wider review of procurement early next year. He said Gray was "working very closely" with Defence Minister Lord Drayson to draw up new guidelines.

"This is part of a three-stage process," he said. "The next stage, which Lord Drayson is leading together with Bernard Gray, is to see how we can actually get better value for money and better procurement." Jones said he did not recognise the £2.5 billion figure and denied incompetence, but he admitted: "In terms of procurement, can we do it better? Yes we can."

Shadow defence secretary Liam Fox said the findings were a "damning indictment of 12 years of incompetence".

'Stranded' armoured trucks being rushed

Defence chiefs were rushing three "stranded" armoured trucks to Afghanistan after an equipment fiasco.

The 17-tonne Ridgback vehicles lined with life-saving armour were dispatched to the war three weeks ago but ended up in Dubai.

The Ministry of Defence denied it had bungled. But after Tories branded the delay "inexcusable", two of the three trucks were hastily being airlifted by RAF C17 aircraft. The third will be moved by the end of the week, promised officials.

The row broke as officials prepared to name the latest young soldier killed in a roadside explosion in Afghanistan.A serviceman from the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, attached to the Light Dragoons, was on a vehicle patrol in Babaji in Helmand Province yesterday morning. His family has been informed.

Defence officials said the soldier's death was not connected with any shortage of Ridgback trucks. Although his armoured CVR(T) car carried less armour, a Ridgback truck would not have been suitable for a patrol.

Nine Ridgback trucks, designed to withstand mines and roadside bombs, were dispatched to Afghanistan last month but ended up in Dubai. Five have now arrived in Afghanistan.