The great MQ giveaway was one of Brown's first acts as CotE to rake in some 'free' cash. Remember those early heady days when there was suddenly money for allsorts of things, and none of them had anything to do with defence? Well, the MoD was well and truly stuffed, the whole deal is murky and as rancid as hell, and Gordon the Gopher has now moved on leaving the mayhem in his wake.
The Defence Estate is responsible for almost 50,000 MQs in the UK. Most of those in England and Wales were sold to
Annington in 1996 and leased back by MOD. MOD retained the responsibility for maintenance and upgrade. Annual rent to
Annington is around £140 million per year. Given that the MoD only received 1.6 Billion from Annington back in 1996, it doesn't take too much in the way of grey matter to work out that the windfall has now 'gone' and the MoD not only has to pay for the upkeep of the MQ estate, but also has to find 140 Million each year to give to Annington. Its like spending the redundancy money on a shiny new car but not bothering with the mortgage.
For those who don't know, the majority of MQs in England and Wales (Scotland and Northern Ireland were not included) was sold to Annington Homes Limited on a 999 year lease in November 1996, and then leased back by MOD on 200 year leases. Of those properties leased from Annington Homes, once any are identified as potentially surplus, MOD seeks confirmation from the Services that there is no longer term requirement for the properties. Surplus leased housing stock in England and Wales is, under the terms of the 1996 Sale Agreement, returned to Annington Homes. It is then for the company to arrange sales as they see fit. Which MoD pratts negotiate deals like this on the public behalf?
http://www.publications.parliament.u...w0004.htm_wqn8
The Public Affairs Committee wasn't very happy at the time either.
http://www.nao.org.uk/Recommendation....asp?repId=393
Gordon Brown? trust/far/throw.