BEST DEFENCE

By Jason Moore I was rather amazed to hear this week that Britain has one of the largest defence budgets in the world, second only to the United States. So why is it that the British armed services appear to lack everything from proper boots to helicopters. Plenty is said about possible wastage of funds in the National Health Service but little to said about the defence budget. Just where is the money going? Unfortunately, it is being spent on over-priced and outdated machinery which for obvious reasons has to be British made. The defence budget includes a sizeable slice of industrial aid and helps maintain thousands of British jobs. But this is the problem. It would be far cheaper for the British armed services to buy their equipment abroad. Its in service date would be much quicker also. But no. At a timer when British troops on the frontline in Afghanistan are complaining about a lack of equipment a radical overhaul of how the defence budget is needed. The troops in Afghanistan need the best that money can buy. Equipment should be purchased on its merits rather than if it is British-made. For too long the British armed services have had to suffer with outdated equipment simply because it was made in Britain.