MoD lied to cover-up £200m Chinooks blunder?

As reported in an exclusive in the Times today:

The shortage of helicopters in Afghanistan can be traced to a “disastrous” Ministry of Defence decision to try to economise by designing its own software, The Times has been told.
The MoD agreed in 1995 to buy eight Chinook Mk3s from Boeing for £259 million. The avionics software would have cost a further £40 million, but defence insiders say that the ministry wanted to fit its own software — in spite of a warning from Boeing that it might not work.
When the aircraft were delivered six years later, the ministry found that it could not design the software which meant that the helicopters could not fly in difficult decisions. They have been stored in climate-controlled hangars ever since, in spite of two military conflicts, and when they finally come into service the total bill will be at least £500 million.

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Whistleblowing in Whitehall should be encouraged, say MPs

"Whistleblowing within the civil service needs to be encouraged if the government wants to stem leaks, a cross-party group of MPs recommends."

So reports the Guardian yesterday. If you believe that, you might be interested in a bridge I have for sale?

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News From The Sandpit

Private Eye No.1242, 7-20 August, HP Sauce

" The Ministry of Defence doesn't just find itself having to rely on Russian-built and Ukranian-crewed helicopters to fill the gaps in its transport aircraft fleet in Afghanistan (see last Eye). Civilian airliners are being contracted, too.

The aprons of RAF Brize Norton and RAF Lyneham are often home to unusual aircraft, civvy planes from Oman Air and other Middle Eastern carriers among them. These aircraft augmented the tired fleet of air transport Tristars operated by 216 Squadron - a fleet so old and maintenace heavy it is known by soldiers kept waiting while new parts are bolted on as the RAF's static display team.

They fly troops from the UK out to bases in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, where they are transferred to military C-17 Globemasters and C-130 Hercules transports for the final leg of their journey to Kandahar. The transfers are necessary because only these military aircraft have the defensive suites built in to counter threats from surface-to-air missles and, to a certain extent, ground fire that could be encountered on their final approach in Afghan airspace. They carry flares and chaff to confuse heat-seeking missles, as well as other electronic countermeasures.

But now it emerges that two civvy airliners are flying directly to Kandahar, even though they have no defensive suites fitted. Surely this can't continue? 'Squarebasher'. "

Private Eye

You don't have to be MoD to work here...

Check out the latest Eye for the lowdown on MoD accounts, and our part of the business in particular.

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The hidden truth behind drug company profits

This is the story of one of the great unspoken scandals of our times. Today, the people across the world who most need life-saving medicine are being prevented from producing it. Here's the latest example: factories across the poor world are desperate to start producing their own cheaper Tamiflu to protect their populations – but they are being sternly told not to. Why? So rich drug companies can protect their patents – and profits. There is an alternative to this sick system, but we are choosing to ignore it.
To understand this tale, we have to start with an apparent mystery. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has been correctly warning for months that if swine flu spreads to the poorest parts of the world, it could cull hundreds of thousands of people – or more. Yet they have also been telling the governments of the poor world not to go ahead and produce as much Tamiflu – the only drug we have to reduce the symptoms, and potentially save lives – as they possibly can.
In the answer to this whodunnit, there lies a much bigger story about how our world works today.
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