Ministry of Defence’s buying arm was branded “broken” in a brutal parliamentary report but those in charge of dishing out multi-million-pound contracts bagged large bonuses regardless
Military procurement bosses trousered £335,000 in bonuses last year – even though our armed forces had to write off £805million thanks to ditched projects, faulty kit and training accidents.
A scathing parliamentary report this year branded the Ministry of Defence’s buying arm as “broken”, adding: “It’s time to fix it.” But those in charge of dishing out multi-million-pound contracts still drew huge salaries and hefty bonuses.
Ex-infantry commander Colonel Richard Kemp said: “Procurement is the weakest element of the MoD. Britain gets pretty much the least bang for its buck of any Western armed forces.
“It is scandalous that civil servants presiding over this mess are getting eye-watering bonuses while young fighting soldiers are struggling with low salaries and poor housing.”
Bonuses for executives at Defence Equipment and Support surged from £230,000 in 2022 to £335,000 this year. Chief executive Andy Start, paid £275,000 a year, got a £90,000 bonus despite admitting in his annual report there was “room for improvement in performance, process and culture”. His predecessor Sir Simon Bollom, on similar pay, got £125,000 in bonuses in his last two years.
In June, the Commons heard a £5.5billion MoD project to deliver Ajax fighting vehicles is running six years late. They were intended to be in service by 2017 but have been plagued with problems including noise and vibration that have injured soldiers testing them. An official report found “a number of errors of judgement”.
Latest MoD accounts also show how projects were called off before they started or were shelved early. Some £473million was lost when the MoD abandoned renewing Warrior tanks. Two £5million Watchkeeper drones were binned after accidents and £60million was written off due to the retirement of three Royal Navy ships.
Shadow Defence Secretary John Healey said: “The Government has wasted £15billion through mismanagement of defence procurement programmes while failing to deliver vital equipment. Labour will use the National Audit Office to conduct a comprehensive audit of MoD waste.”
Tony Wright, of veterans’ health charity Forward Assist, said: “It’s galling to see the massive salaries and hefty bonuses when so many projects have ultimately failed.”
The MoD said: “The pay we offer is necessary to attract and keep the right people. Write-offs of assets are not cash losses and do not cost the department. Such decisions can generate future savings for use on higher-priority programmes.”
