UK defence industry ‘risks being ruined’

Published on Tuesday 21 February 2012 00:37

The government must come up with a proper defence strategy or face ruining the UK’s defence industry, a former Labour defence secretary claimed in the Commons yesterday.

Bob Ainsworth, who was Gordon Brown’s defence secretary from 2009 to 2010, said there was a risk the government’s failures would mean British firms would lose out on exports.

But international security minister Gerald Howarth said the current government was doing more than any before it to sell defence equipment abroad.

India recently announced its preferred option for new fighter jets was the French-made Rafale jet, rather than the British-built Eurofighter.

Speaking during defence questions in the Commons, Mr Ainsworth said: “There is a belief in industry we will lose at least 30,000 jobs in the defence sector over the coming period.

“While they applaud the government’s stated export support, they fear it has no substance if it is not backed up by a strategy, no matter what title the government chooses to use for that.

“This is not a free market and if the government does not develop some kind of defence strategy, other nations will gain at our expense, as potentially they are in India, with an inferior product to that we have to offer.”

Mr Howarth replied: This government has done more than any of the previous Labour governments did to support British defence exports.

“I can tell you, for example, BAE have sold three offshore patrol vessels to Brazil.”

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Anagach

Tuesday, February 21, 2012 at 08:18 PM

Yep, the Union plan is closure.

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douglas-home rule

Tuesday, February 21, 2012 at 02:04 PM

Surely their defence stategy is-- to move everything except Trident to the home counties. The London phone book on A's will be full of Admirals and the G's with Generals.

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Hector the Lessor

Tuesday, February 21, 2012 at 09:34 AM

Well they never protected the 90% of Uk industry over the last forty years so why do you expect them to protect the last ten percent? Does no one realise the totally abysmal support for UK industry over the last forty years from elected politicians? You do not have any industrial base left. You have Asian shopkeepers who tend quite rightly buy from Asian suppliers. You do not have a great many UK shopkeepers. In my younger days I used to beat my head against a wall, but nowadays I realise that this is the way it should go, and just weep and accept it.

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