Commenting on today’s call by a coroner for the entire RAF Nimrod fleet to be grounded, Liberal Democrat Shadow Defence Secretary, Nick Harvey said:

This is an unprecedented call which will shake the MoD to its foundations. Unless it can show there will be grave operational consequences for our forces on the ground, the Government must make plans to ground the Nimrod fleet.

 Our armed forces are doing an incredible and difficult job in taking on the Taliban. It is scandalous that they also have to worry about the threat to their lives posed by the neglect of their own Government. Read more »

Arriving today for a two-day visit to Afghanistan, Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg has emphasised the vital importance of success in the ‘conflict of our generation’.

Warning that a failure to ensure peace and stability will see Afghanistan reverting to a haven for terrorism, he aims to find out what Britain can do to ensure the international effort in the country is put back on track to success.

Nick Clegg said:

“Afghanistan is the most important conflict of our generation. If we fail to secure lasting peace and stability, Afghanistan will revert to a pariah state, feeding the international drugs trade and offering a haven for terrorism that will threaten global security for the conceivable future. The consequences of failure would be devastating.

“Yet the success of our mission in Afghanistan hangs in the balance. International efforts have not yet delivered the stability and security that the people of Afghanistan deserve. So we must ask tough questions, of ourselves and our allies, to ensure we succeed. Read more »

Commenting on today’s statement by Des Browne on the MoD’s Spring Performance Report, Liberal Democrat Shadow Defence Secretary, Nick Harvey said:
 
“This damning report adds to the growing sense that Gordon Brown doesn’t care about the military.
 
“The report is a catalogue of woes for the MoD. There is a recruitment catastrophe, dangerous levels of overstretch and a crisis in the defence equipment budget. Read more »

Commenting on reports that the relatives of 14 men killed when a Nimrod spy plane crashed in Afghanistan may have been shown a replacement aircraft after the one they were meant to view developed a fuel leak, Liberal Democrat Shadow Defence Secretary, Nick Harvey said:
 
“This suggests that despite the tragedy which occurred in Afghanistan, further RAF Nimrods still in use have similar, potentially life-threatening problems. Read more »

Monday saw Defence Questions in the House to the Secretary of State for Defence.

Concerned over the increasing strains placed on our Armed Forces and the detrimental impact ongoing operations on two-fronts might have on our future capabilities and the welfare and morale of our troops, Nick raised the following question:

 Nick Harvey (Shadow Secretary of State for Defence, Defence; North Devon, Liberal Democrat)

The Government argue that our troops are stretched but not overstretched, yet the drawdown from Iraq has been postponed and serious recruitment difficulties cannot be entirely masked by a massive increase in recruitment from the Commonwealth. For how much longer can we operate beyond defence planning assumptions without doing damage to our future capabilities? Do we really have the spare capacity to undertake further commitments—in Kosovo, for example—and if we do, what lessons have we learned from Iraq and Afghanistan about making it clear that we are going in for a time-limited shift and not taking on another open-ended commitment? Read more »

Commenting on today’s inquest evidence from a former RAF commander, in which he claimed he was ‘censored’ for voicing his concerns on safety measures in Hercules aircraft, Liberal Democrat Shadow Defence Secretary, Nick Harvey said:

It is outrageous that yet another one of our brave service personnel feels their concerns over frontline equipment have been ignored, or even censored.

This inquest has seen former RAF personnel queuing up to say that they expressed concerns over the lack of explosive-suppressant foam in Hercules aircraft, years before its absence allowed this tragedy to happen. Read more »