Tag: politics

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British military has 500 drones

By Sharon Black

Ministry of Defence in talks to increase the amount of UK airspace to fly remotely piloted weapons The British military now has 500 drones and has been looking for ways to increase the amount of UK airspace in which to fly some of them, the Guardian can reveal. The expansion of the fleet of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) is in line with the Ministry of Defence’s ambition for a third of the Royal Air Force to consist of remotely piloted aircraft by 2030. But the disclosure will dismay campaigners who have raised ethical and legal concerns over UAVs, which have been used extensively in Afghanistan, and by the CIA to target Taliban and al-Qaida leaders across the border in Pakistan

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Afghanistan roadside bomb kills three British soldiers

By Sharon Black

David Cameron pays tribute to soldiers after explosion that also injured another six UK service personnel Three British soldiers have been killed and several others injured after the heavily armoured vehicle they were travelling in was hit by a large roadside bomb while they were on a routine patrol in Afghanistan. The Ministry of Defence said on Wednesday the men had been killed on Tuesday in the Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand province, on the border of Kandahar just north of the provincial capital Lashkar Gah. It is understood six other Britons were injured in the explosion, which happened while the soldiers were inside a Mastiff troop carrier – a 15-tonne vehicle which is regarded as one of the safest operated by the British military

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UK starts controlling drones in Afghanistan from British soil

By Sharon Black

RAF’s unmanned Reaper aircraft had been operated from Creech airforce base in Nevada, but missions from Lincolnshire began this week Remotely controlled armed drones used to target insurgents in Afghanistan have been operated from the UK for the first time, the Ministry of Defence said on Thursday. Missions of the missile-carrying Reaper aircraft began from a newly built headquarters at RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire earlier this week – five years after the MoD bought the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to monitor and attack the Taliban.

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MoD poised to privatise part of troubled defence procurement process

By Sharon Black

Announcement expected to say that everyday management of Defence Equipment & Support will be handed to private sector Ministers are poised to announce the next stage of controversial reforms that will give private firms a chance to run the organisation that buys and supplies billions of pounds’ worth of defence equipment to the British military. The Treasury has given the green light to proposals that will open up the possibility of part-privatising Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) , the body within the Ministry of Defence in charge of procuring everything from new warships to lightbulbs

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Afghan interpreters could be offered relocation to Britain

By Sharon Black

David Cameron expected to make decision on Tuesday affecting up to 1,100 Afghans who risked lives working with UK forces Hundreds of Afghan interpreters who have risked their lives working with UK forces in Helmand province could be offered relocation to Britain this week when David Cameron reviews the issue at a meeting of the National Security Council. The prime minister has been given three broad options and is expected to make a decision on Tuesday that could affect up to 1,100 Afghan nationals – including more than 600 interpreters, who could be in grave danger from reprisals once Nato forces have left Afghanistan in 2014

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Afghanistan’s future after Nato troops leave uncertain, admits Hammond

By Sharon Black

Afghans will determine their own fate, says defence secretary, as MPs warns country could descend into civil war within years The defence secretary has admitted that no one can predict what will happen to Afghanistan after British, US and other Nato troops end their frontline role there at the end of 2014, and stressed that only the Afghan people can find a lasting solution to the country’s violence, corruption and lawlessness. Philip Hammond’s remarks came as the Commons cross-party defence committee warned that Afghanistan could descend into civil war within a few years and suggests that the British government’s attitude towards the country is one of simply hoping for the best. Hammond told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that the UK had intervened in Afghanistan to protect its national security and had never intended to stay for a protracted period

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Margaret Thatcher made the north of Ireland a more bitterly divided place | Gerry Adams

By Sharon Black

Her government’s policies handed draconian military powers over to the securocrats, and subverted basic human rights Margaret Thatcher was a hugely divisive figure in British politics. And for the people of Ireland, and especially the north, the Thatcher years were among some of the worst of the conflict. Her policy decisions entrenched sectarian divisions, handed draconian military powers over to the securocrats, and subverted basic human rights

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Britain has ‘moral obligation’ to offer Afghan interpreters asylum

By Sharon Black

In open letter, senior figures including Mike Jackson and Lord Ashdown, critical of ‘shameful’ UK stance Britain has a “moral obligation” to help Afghan interpreters who are in danger of being abandoned and hunted down by the Taliban, senior political and military figures have said. In an open letter, the high-profile names, including former chief of the general staff, Sir Mike Jackson, and Lord Ashdown, said it is shameful that Britain is the only Nato country yet to provide Afghan interpreters with asylum.

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David Cameron warns Trident needed as deterrent to North Korea

By Sharon Black

UK should not be left defenceless against “highly unpredictable and aggressive” regime that threatens UK, says prime minister David Cameron has warned against abandoning Britain’s Trident nuclear submarine programme, claiming it would be foolish to do so due to the threats posed by North Korea. The prime minister said the country should not be left defenceless when the “highly unpredictable and aggressive” regime in North Korea was developing ballistic missiles that he claimed could threaten Europe. Writing in the Daily Telegraph,, Cameron said the UK needed to maintain the ultimate deterrent as much today as during the cold war

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Letters: The case for keeping Trident dwindles by the day

By Sharon Black

Ed Miliband is right to include defence in the current Labour party policy review, and Angela Smith and John Woodcock are out of order to suggest that the policy is settled ( Our deterrent is good value , 1 April). It’s about time the country had a defence policy based on the highest risks that we face

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Labour is right to support Trident | Angela Smith and John Woodcock

By Sharon Black

A nuclear disarmament policy might look fine on a Lib Dem leaflet but it would cost our party and the country dear As the next election gets closer, a steady stream of commentators have speculated that Labour could go back to the days of advocating unilateral nuclear disarmament by abandoning the programme to build the new submarines that will carry Britain’s deterrent . Some hope Ed Miliband will be different to the succession of Labour leaders who believed unilateralism would leave the UK more vulnerable to a future nuclear threat while doing precious little to advance the vitally important cause of global non-proliferation and disarmament.

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UK search and rescue sell-off hits turbulence

By Sharon Black

Minister says Bristow will deliver first-class service but critics air doubts about US company’s takeover from RAF and navy The transfer of the UK’s search and rescue service from the military to a Texas-based helicopter company has been criticised by residents of coastal communities, politicians from all the main parties and rescue experts. From 2016 Bristow Helicopters, part of the global Bristow Group, will take over the helicopter search and rescue (SAR) service from the RAF and navy.

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Search and rescue contract loss angers UK coastal residents

By Sharon Black

Concern and disappointment after government announces Texas-based search and rescue firm will replace RAF and navy The rescue at the weekend was typically swift and professional. An angler had been swept off the rocks at Trewarvas Point near Helston in Cornwall and, without help, would have been dead within minutes in the surging sea.

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Budget reality check: some grand-sounding claims – but do they stack up?

By Sharon Black

Guardian writers test the validity of some of the key assertions made by George Osborne in his budget speech “We’ve seen more people in work than ever before – including a record number of women. A quarter of a million fewer workless households than two years ago. And the unemployment rate is lower than when we came to office” Unemployment was at 7.8% of the workforce when the coalition was elected in May 2010 – and is back at that figure now

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Labour is finally beginning to see the light on Trident | Kate Hudson

By Sharon Black

Ed Miliband’s calls for Trident to be scaled back bring Labour into line with the Lib Dems – and public opinion, at last It’s almost three years since Nick Clegg made Trident a general election issue. He used the much-trumpeted televised leadership debates to outline a distinctive policy: no like-for-like replacement of the Trident nuclear weapons system.

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Iraq war planning wholly irresponsible, say senior UK military figures

By Sharon Black

Former chief of defence staff Lord Guthrie criticises Bush administration but says Blair government must also share blame The way Britain was led into war with Iraq 10 years ago was “wholly irresponsible” and the lack of intelligence on the country a national disgrace, senior military figures have told the Guardian. Though they direct their fire principally at the Bush administration, they make clear the Blair government must share a lot of the blame. “It was absolutely irresponsible to go in without thinking of the consequences”, said Lord Guthrie, former chief of defence staff and head of the army.

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UK to withdraw 11,000 troops from Germany by 2016

By Sharon Black

Defence secretary to announce accelerated pullout, which will require £1bn spend on new UK housing for troops More than 11,000 troops currently based in Germany will return to Britain within three years as part of a major restructuring of the army that will require ministers to spend £1bn on new military homes. The announcement on Tuesday marks a sharp acceleration of the withdrawal of British forces in Germany, which have been stationed there since the end of the second world war.

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Armed forces may need to find £17bn of savings over next decade, report says

By Sharon Black

Predicted reductions in MoD budget could lead to drastic measures such as axing another 15,000 jobs, report says The armed forces may need to find up to £17bn of savings over the next decade unless ministers ring-fence the defence budget from further cuts – a target that would require drastic measures such as axing another 15,000 frontline jobs, according to a report published on Wednesday.

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Military staff fear redundancy if they complain about bullying, says report

By Sharon Black

Defence select committee review urges appointment of Armed Forces Ombudsman to oversee cases of victimisation Military personnel have been deterred from making complaints about bullying and victimisation within the armed forces because of fears they will be put in the frontline for redundancy, a report warns today. The problem is another reason why the system for investigating harassment and other abuses should be overhauled and scrutinised by a new Armed Forces Ombudsman working outside the military chain of command, say MPs on the defence select committee.

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Spies chilled about Spooks but military heated over memoirs

By Sharon Black

Suppressed passages from official history of D notice committee reveal concern over special forces talking to media and ex-MI5 chief’s memoirs Britain’s top military brass and senior Whitehall officials were agitated about special forces talking to the media, concerned about a former MI5 chief writing her memoirs – but the spies were relatively relaxed about the BBC spy show Spooks, hitherto secret documents reveal. The newly released files give details of passages that were removed from the original manuscript of Secrecy and the Media, the official history of the defence, press and broadcasting advisory committee (DPBAC), where Whitehall officials oversee a system of voluntary self-censorship with the media.