Good news from the Lords
One of my spies has just drawn my attention to this exchange in the House of Lords on Monday 8 May (Text from Hansard - I have added 'bold' to some text)
Lord Craig of Radley, cross-bench peer, Marshal of the Royal Air Force, Chief of the Defence Staff 1988-91 (David Craig)
My Lords, ..........there have been a number of reports in the press of inadequacies, such as body armour not being available and that a Hercules aircraft unhappily shot down had not been provided with the right protection against a fire outbreak in its fuel tanks. Indeed, on that occasion, before the full board of inquiry conclusions came out, one was led to believe that adequate protection had been provided. The Minister has just suggested to noble Lords adequate protection is in place for our Lynx helicopters. I hope very much that when the board of inquiry reports, that will indeed prove to have been the case in this instance. More generally, does the Minister agree that when our forces face hazardous operations, there can be no excuse whatever for any penny-pinching or short-changing on the essential protective measures and equipment with which they should be provided?
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence, Lord Drayson: My Lords, I am grateful to the noble and gallant Lord, who knows from his own experience the challenges that our troops face. I absolutely agree that there is no excuse for failure to provide our troops with the equipment they need to do their job properly. We are doing that in response to the threats as they emerge and change. The threats have presented us with significant challenges in certain areas and we need to respond to them with speed and diligence. We need to learn any lessons which may come out of the board of inquiry and apply those lessons speedily to our helicopters if that is required.
airsound