+ + + Gerald Howarth Shifted from Defence Procurement + + +
In news that will disappoint all his friends lobbying on behalf of defence contractors, the Telegraph is reporting that Gerald Howarth MP will remain in the MOD but is being shifted so that he will have no responsibility for Defence procurement. Taxpayers can breathe a sigh of relief…
See also : Minister for the Arms Trade, Minister’s Murky Missile Mate
UPDATE : The Sunlight Centre welcomes today’s decision not to put Gerald Howarth MP in charge of the nation’s defence procurement:
“Mr Howarth’s lobbying connections with the industry would have made it impossible for the public to be sure they were getting the best deal in this already controversial market. For the sake of propriety the decision to remove him from defence procurement was the right thing to do.”
As yet Defra has not confirmed that Caroline Spelman will recuse herself from dealing with issues that effect her former lobbying clients…
Nice work Guido – highlighting these things can have a profound effect
Well done!
SQUIIIIIIRRRRWWKK!!! (flaps)
What does ‘recuse’ mean?
OT: David Steel on WATO can’t resist having a pop at his coalition partners. He really is a sad and twisted bitter old scroat.
To disqualify oneself from acting in a particular position or case.
Shame – ‘Action Man’ is my MP and not a bad lad really (though he did claim the maximum ACA as long as it lasted). He’s very prompt in dealing with letters from constituents, and can even use email
He is well plugged in to many local firms that supply the MOD – but then as MP for Aldershot he should be.
Still, he can now fight the troops’ corner from whatever new post they give him.
To coin a phrase – “Our work here is done”
I’d like to see the wanker drive around Afghanistan in one of the Vectors he was so keen on. If that was his idea of good defence procurement then he really was an arsehole.
well done guido
I’d like some N Korean torpedoes please – guaranteed to make a bang
Did you notice how the pieces of the torpedo were encrusted with barnacles? Looks like the bits were at the bottom of the sea for a lot longer than just a month…
There’s a rumour that the torpedoes were piloted by little fellas.
Kamikaze minisubs?
That would explain the barnacles…
The trick is to compare it to the various metals on the damaged ship hull which appeared to be showing rust from unintended immersion on internal surfaces, similar to the internal torpedo parts shown.
I was mainly curious about the propellers, there was a lot of crud on them. Point being unlike the internal components the props will be designed to tolerate years of exposure to air/moisture before their brief moment of glory. The props were heavily encrusted. Left me wondering if he ship had found a rather old torpedo sitting on the sea bed and manage to set it off?
This of all posts needs crosshairs.
I’m pleased to think that the MoD’s exemplary record on the procurement of ‘defence equipment’ will be preserved. Seriously, I wouldn’t send them out to buy a box of fireworks.
When I used to have to deal with their QA auditors back in the 80s, a good lunch with at least 6 or 7 pints was always helpful to the successful conclusion of business…
Why we need so many staff to procure shit replacements for what we should buy off the shelf (and give the suppliers incentives to manufacture here) is anybody’s guess – maybe it’s misplaced national pride, maybe something worse.
Looks like Cameron and co are avid readers of Guido!
We all know they are readers but it’s even better to learn they sometimes act on it.
It should be MY speech the Queen is reading today! Mine, you hear?! MINE!
You’re a queen – read your own fucking speech.
Sorry think you are totally wrong on his one Guido. I want people with knowledge to be put in charge in the areas of their knowledge.
Until and unless he is seen to be on the take he should stay.
You innocent until proved guilty.
Perception by the Public needs less evidence than Courts & Tribunals.
Do you think we need to suspend our judgement of Bliar,Mandelslime & Campbell, to name just a few examples? When,if ever,are we likely to see any of them before a truly independent Court?
Why have they wheeled out Tessa Cheek-by-Jowells on BBC1? She’s not as annoying as the likes of Caroline Bint or Hazel Jeers but she’s still fucking annoying. Chatting shit about academy schools. Fuck off, bitch. Your party’s irrelevant.
Perhaps La Jowell might care to go into schools to advise children how to organise their personal finances particularly paying off mortgages and managing joint accounts.
I want bang bang, gimme bang bang!
double 10s, it’s a sign! oooaaaaa
Can I please backdate my benefits to 1972 please? Thank you please.
Good result Guido! It’s the perception of sleaze the country can really do without. Keep ‘em on the straight and narrow.
Was it something you said Guido? Now what’s happening with Spelman? Call the fumigators? Get rid of the parasite!
Good result Guido.
Now can we target a couple of rocket launchers at that wanker Liam Fox and the grim reapers at the MOD for forcing our guys to defuse bombs in Afghanistan without sufficient down time?
The Fox bloke has only been in the seat a week, apparently some bloke from Coventry was doing it before.
Have a look at the “lobbying” of the private equity industry Guido
Their tax breaks
The closeness of Ronnie Cohen to Brown
And now leading private equity lawyers having a representative as Under Secretary in the Ministry of Justice
New politics my arse…
PS Plus other well places MPs…
Had a bellyful of those PE types when I was thinking of building the Waad Towers Hotel a few years back (some very interesting tax angles, by the way). Lots of besuited young persons who talked airily about wanting greater exposure in the country hotel space and leveraging their mezzanine finance. Turned out they wanted an absolute minimum 30% annual return plus all their Magic Circle lawyers’ and Big Four accountants’ fees paid. They would then put some duffer on the board as a non-exec at my expense.
It made me understand how my ancestor’s villeins must have felt, working on his lands one or two days a week for no pay and paying taxes to him on top. London, eh? The only place they pay folk pots o’ money for doin’ nowt.
I’ll be back!
Who’s that going mental at Gabby Logan on R5? Some Tory MP but not sure who.
She deserves a slap though. Her show is dire. They had that Dum-dum-dum-dida-dum-dum piece of music background filler that they use when they are waiting for the news, running over the Queen’s speech.
Liz sounded like she was rapping it.. Yo -Yo Gonna do get 2meg Broadband in da house – suck it up…down with whitey..
What sort of politics do you expect from soccer moms?
I dunno, I’m english.
Whats soccer?
Whats a mom?
What’s a soccer mom?
Lots of fun in my experience.
Thank God for that. now we just need to get rid of the entrenched MOD mindset that defence procurement is about jobs-for-the-boys, when it should be about, er, defence.
I need a job.
I’LL BE BACK!
Only in the re-runs.
When? I’m taking bets.
I should be pwime minister! Jack pwomised me!
For those not on Twitter, Guido has kindly provided the following link:
http://labour-uncut.co.uk/2010/05/25/questions-for-ed-balls/comment-page-1/#comment-218
The Labour Uncut website is collecting questions to put to Ed Balls. Feel free to add yours to those already listed….
Labour Uncut – is that for the labourites who aren’t labour friends of israel? So my question:
When’s Ed going to get it done?
I have just had the distinction of having been moderated and then removed from this site. All I asked was the following (quite reasonable in the circumstances) question:
Apart from not shooting dissenters, how do your views on the legitimate conduct of goverment differ to those of the Stasi?
I guess I have got my answer…..
Smother dissent! Quell insurrection!
You will be sent to the ice mines of Siberia comrade! Learn to know the good fortune that comes from the blood and sweat of your body. Work will set you free!
It’s not a co-incidence that it is known as Hard Labour.
Congratulations, Moniker! I thought mine would be blocked as it was moderated but it seems to have made it through.
Thanks Flaccid. I have just posted another:
At what point do you consider that dissent should be suppressed?
This has also been marked “awaiting moderation”! Give it five minutes and it will be gone as well, no doubt.
Seems they can stomach you, Guido, Tulkinghorn, Billy Blofeld and Tory Bear but I am just beyond the pale…..
p.s. It got through this time but Sir Trev Skint MP has been ejected now as well.
Much later I have posted the same question which has now been accepted:
“Since you have now accepted my last question, you may now understand that a previous one, which you deleted, is rather less fanciful than you might have originally considered. So I will repeat it:
“Apart from the shooting of dissenters, how do your views on the legitimate conduct of government differ markedly to those of the Stasi?
“If Mr Balls is serious about leading the Labour Party and, at least contingently, the country, he has to be prepared to answer questions such as these.”
Lovely website aka U Labour C’unt
Abbott, Durnham, McDonnell 0 nominations
Balls Ed 7
Miliband David 33
Miliband Ed 36
http://www2.labour.org.uk/home
we gotta drum up some support for Ed
Burnham now on 3, Balls still on 7
Agree there should be a support Balls campaign.
Is that Fabio Capello in drag behind Balls?
It’s Rose West, out on bail.
I heard that venal, useless, self serving hippocrocadillapig, Abbot the Hut saying on Sky yesterday she was second favourite after Millipede the Elder ‘amongst the public’. Zero Nominations? The Labour pahteh still isn’t listening apparently.
The public wants to see Abbot as leader as much as the want to see her take a steaming shit on neil kinnocks face
Now that would be an interesting spectacle.
== a lot ?
Actually I can imagine the public being rather keen to see Kinnock humiliated in such a way.
Surely that means she is the favourite?
Oohh!
Was Gordon at Parliament today? I didn’t see him. Mind you I had a lousy view. New boy Bob Blackman pinched my seat, the bounder.
Still, he did get rid of McNulty so i suppose I can overlook it this once.
Oh and just to record here, OT still – that as a result of hearing that the Army was told to STOP recruiting and training Bomb Disposal Officers at a time we were at war, and mainly on foot because the Army hadn’t enough aircraft…..I just wanted to say that for the first time in my life I’d celebrate humnan death – if Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, Ed Balls, Liam Byrne, Hoon and Ainsworth were to die in a horrible manner. You bunch of utter bastards. I really hope serious harm comes to you all. I am told some of you read this blog, so read this you fucking evil turds.
After almost a week of continual gun battles between government forces and drug gangs in Kingston Jamaica, unlikely support has come from the BNP leader Nick Griffin, who has today urged reinforcements to be sent out to help from Tottenham, Brixton, Moss Side and Birmingham.
sad and pitiful you silly copycat.
tat is anti racist and anti fascist.
eveyone knows that you cretin!
Don’t know why I watched a bit of the State Opening Of Parliament – just makes me furious – have you ever seen so many ‘non-jobs’ in one place?!
How many Royal Hangers-on does it take, FFS?! (Idiots with swords and expensive, tax-payer-funded ‘fancy dress’ walking stiffly about the Palace.)
And as for that incompetent “Sergeant at Arms” – some please ‘get Medieval on her ass’ – she couldn’t win a fist fight with a C1 paraplegic.
She has quite curvaceous legs and very trim ankles. The top half is awful, is she wholly the same woman or 2 halves?
And she’s happy to let the police in her back door apparently.
Isn’t Bad AL supposed to be publishing his un-redacted Diaries now that the election is done and dusted?
Sorry, we ran out of fs, cs and ks.
They will still spend £2 billion a year on surface-to-air rent boys. Dirty bastards.
Can I recommend everyone goes over to Labour Uncut and leave some questions for that nice Mr Balls ( link top right of Guido ).
So far – just in case they don’t publish them – I have done…
1. Do you think you would now be less of a fatso if you hadn’t claimed the full allowance ( £400 per month ? ) on food, and shouldn’t you have shared some with your missus ?
2. What is the price of gold today – or can you not bare to look anymore ?
3. If you fail in your bid to be leader would you consider becoming a traffic warden in an attempt to boost your popularity.
There are some real nasty ones there, all good fun.
Do you regret making parents complete CRB checks in order to take their kids friends to an outside activity, or do you still think this bonkers legislation, that you partially u-turned on was necessary?
My suggestion was quite polite, I merely asked if he had considered taking on a car dealership after he lost the leadership election but it was moded out completely, so I can only assume the bog-eyed owner will be re-naming the site LabourCut! – There is room for a ‘N’ there somehwere too!
Congratulations, Sir Trev! I was also moded out (see 41 above) and thought I was the only one so reviled.
The bog-eyed one an I have some history Moniker.
My commiserations, I feel most fortunate not to be able to say the same, Sir Trev!!!!
Just think, given their track record if the Gobshite Centre had written earlier he would probably have hung on.
Or even AFFECT them?