Des Browne says book launch is official engagement.

I can't understand why Des Browne considers attending the launch for Stephen Walker’s book, “Shot at Dawn” to be an official engagement. The book tells the story of how twenty-eight Irish men serving in British regiments met their deaths. Even though there is a military connection, I can't see why our Defence Secretary should officially attend the book launch of a BBC journalist?

I might be wrong, it could be quite a normal for a senior minister to carry out such duties, but if that is the case, I find it very strange. Maybe someone could enlighten me?

Des Browne apologises for missing MOD Laptop

Des two jobs Browne is on the parliamentary channel at the moment apologising for the recent loss of an MOD Laptop containing the personal details of 600,000 serving and potential members of the Armed Forces. Liam Fox brought up the fact that a staggering 340 MOD Laptops have been lost in the last four years. Liam rightly pointed out that this does not indicate one officer making a stupid mistake - this shows yet another systemic failure in the security procedures carried out by a governmental department.

Liam Fox has submitted a post on this subject over on the new and shiny CentreRight.com.

Gordon Brown's address to the CBI - A new world order?

Having returned to the UK, Gordon Brown will attempt to restore faith in his floundering government in a speech to the CBI. Brown is expected to announce greater spending on transport infrastructure and energy, including nuclear power stations. If Gordon really wants to impress the nation with increased spending, then he should give Des Browne the £1bn for defence that he refused him last week. Of course he won't because Des has already been told not to trouble his boss with further concerns over the defence budget. That to me sounds a bit imperious, I can just imagine Gordon wearing a toga, laying on the sofa in No10 whilst dictating his commands to a lowly scribe.

Gordon will use sugar to make the bad medicine he has to announce in his speech go down. He will announce that the planning system will be streamlined so that it will be easier to build nuclear power stations - the sugar will be that this will also make it easier to build homes. He will announce a third runway at Heathrow, which he will hope to sweeten with a promise to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by at least 60% by 2050. I wonder if any pies (or pigs, take your pick) will be taking off from the new runway? Even though I'm in favour of expanding our capacity for air travel, I think some honesty would be welcome on the subject. Building a third runway is not going to help reduce carbon dioxide emissions, so to continually promise a reduction of at least 60% by 2050 at every opportunity is a little two faced.

Update: Gordon has just quoted Montgomery's statement that the most important thing to a frontline soldier is not his weapon or equipment, but it is the soldier's skills. I think Gordon will find that today's soldiers would not agree. Your skills will not stop you getting blown up by a roadside improvised explosive device, a decent armoured vehicle and body armour will do that.

The questions from the audience have generally been negative towards Gordon's governance of the country. There is however one point that I would like to praise from his speech: That is the desire to get the long term unemployed back to work through skills training. The only problem with that, is whether or not Labour have the leadership skills required to implement them. They have shown that they are highly skilled at setting up schemes and throwing money at them, but they have failed miserably at managing those schemes.

Gordon Brown and Des Browne fall out over defence spending.

You've heard the one about how copper wire was invented haven't you? Well it seems that Gordon Brown and Des Browne are reenacting the old joke. Des Browne is reported to have tried (and failed) to get Gordon's permission to release an extra £1 billion from the treasury to spend on defence. According to The Independent on Sunday, Des Browne was told not to trouble his boss with further concerns over the defence budget.

Full Story HERE

Former defence chiefs attack Gordon Brown - Video of the Lords debate.

You can click HERE watch a video of the Lords debate that saw five ex-chiefs of staff attack Gordon Brown for inadequate MoD funding levels and the appointment of "two hats" Des Browne. The Defence Secretary hit back saying: "I will put my record in relation to both commitment and delivery up against anyone's. "Tell me what it is that a secretary of state for defence should be doing, that I am not doing... This is not an issue that has ever been raised with me by any serving soldier when I have been in an operational theatre. "I'm not that long back from Iraq ... I found the morale of our troops in the operating base in Basra is as high as it could be."

And if you believe that, you will believe anything. Is he so stupid that he thinks morale is high in our Armed Forces, or does he believe that we are stupid enough to believe Labours continual stream of codswallop?

'The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war,no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional as to how they perceive the veterans of earlier wars were treated and appreciated by their nation'' --George Washington--