Defence Debate is on Thursday. Defence Questions was yesterday. Former Min DP James Arbuthnot raised Chinook in a question:
Will the Minister acknowledge the important and impressive role that the Chinook fleet, based in Odiham in my constituency, played last year in extraction from Sierra Leone? Does he accept that it is not good for the morale of such a fine fighting force to accuse pilots who die in the service of their country of gross negligence when no evidence exists to support that accusation?
Ingram then gave the most pathetic, miserable and mean answer that I have EVER heard from a Minister in HM Govt:
Mr. Ingram: I understand that the hon. Gentleman has changed his position on that. If my memory serves me correctly, he was a Defence Minister who authorised and approved the earlier examination. Perhaps he was not in office at that precise time, but he would have examined all the material that related to the incident to which he refers. As he knows, the other place has provided a detailed and comprehensive report, which we are currently examining. Of course, the Chinook fleet is carrying out an important and extensive role on behalf of Her Majesty's Government.
Instead of slagging off Ingram with a stream of expletives, as he deserves, I will merely put on record that I believe hom to be the worst and most useless, ineffective defence Minister to have graced the Government benches in at least the past 20 years. Even after Peter Tinfoyle and Badger Lamont.
Go on mate, jump before you are pushed.