UK budget writedowns costs

At least £6 billion of defence spending has been wasted by pushing through tough cuts to the MoD and scrapping aircraft, ships and armoured vehicles, The Scotsman has learned.

An unpublished memorandum sent to the Commons defence select committee has revealed the seven most costly write-offs resulting from the strategic defence and security review (SDSR).

They include about £3.5 billion lost through cancelling the Nimrod replacements and scrapping the planes which had already been built or part-built.

Another £1.4 billion was written off through the early decommissioning of Harrier jets which had been flown from aircraft carriers.

The third-biggest write-off came from scrapping armoured vehicles, which represented a loss of £431 million.

Most of this money was wasted on 600 tanks which are to be withdrawn early from service.

The early withdrawal of four Type 22 frigates, including HMS Cumberland which has been used in the Libya crisis, means a further £340 million was written off.

Other Royal Navy write-offs include the Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels RFA Fort George, at £92 million,and RFA Largs Bay at £108 million.

The decommissioning of the last of the old aircraft carriers, Ark Royal, cost £97 million.

The £6 billion figure is an interim total, and the MoD has previously suggested the total cost could be as high as £12 billion.

All the equipment in the document refers to new and unused items or that decommissioned well before schedule as a result of the SDSR.

Details of the write-offs add weight to claims that the SDSR has been “a waste of money” and have fuelled demands that, with Britain involved in the Libyan crisis, a fresh examination of the review should be ordered, less than six months after it was published.

The document provides answers to questions put by the committee to the MoD’s permanent under-secretary, Ursula Brennan, which she was unable to answer when she appeared in front of MPs several weeks ago.