‘Unbelievable’ waste and inefficiency at MoD, says ex-defence minister Al Carns | The Guardian (GB) | Al Carns, Ministry of Defence, UK, waste, inefficiency, defence investment plan, Labour party, legacy programs, tanks, John Healey, Dan Jarvis, Nato summit, The Guardian, June 2024

Former armed forces minister Al Carns has sharply criticized the Ministry of Defence (MoD), describing "unbelievable" waste and inefficiency within the organization. Carns stated that during his tenure, he was consistently dismayed by the unwillingness to confront the financial burdens of legacy programs, suggesting that mismanaged investments, such as in tanks, should be abandoned in favor of adopting new technologies.

“

There is “unbelievable” waste and inefficiency at the Ministry of Defence (MoD), the former armed forces minister Al Carns has said, adding that every time he would “turn a stone over” he would get another shock.

In an interview with The Guardian, Carns, a former special forces soldier, also commented on the political landscape, suggesting the Labour party has a critical "one chance" to enact change and seek new leadership. He expressed strong disapproval of the party's current situation, stating, "I don’t think we could have got this more wrong – but we’re in it now. My goodness, make the change once if you’re going to, get on with it and get the country back on track."

Carns resigned as a defence minister shortly after John Healey stepped down as defence secretary. He has been discussed as a potential leadership candidate but indicated his primary interest lies in fostering policy debate rather than pursuing the prime ministership. "If we get that policy debate wrong, we are not going to win in two-and-a-half years’ time. And we’re going to hand the country to a potentially far-right party that will split the nation apart," he warned.

“

I don’t think we could have got this more wrong – but we’re in it now. My goodness, make the change once if you’re going to, get on with it and get the country back on track.

He revealed fundamental disagreements with the direction of the defence investment plan (Dip), clarifying that his resignation was not to support Healey but to make public interventions. While Healey cited the Treasury's reluctance to adequately fund defence and the prime minister's inability to make tough decisions, Carns expressed some sympathy for criticisms of the Dip, though he noted he had only seen the plans two weeks prior. "I looked at it and I was like, no, no, no, no," he said, adding, "I ran out of road of where people will either listen to me or enact a change that I need."

“

If we get that policy debate wrong, we are not going to win in two-and-a-half years’ time. And we’re going to hand the country to a potentially far-right party that will split the nation apart.

Carns expressed shock at the MoD's inefficiency, even with his prior experience. "It is unbelievable. You turn a stone over and get another shock – how has that been allowed to go on?" he asked. He described encountering "layers of bureaucracy which now cost us more than the product you’re getting itself," calling the level of inefficiency "exceptionally difficult to unpeel." He pointed to the current investment plan, which new defence secretary Dan Jarvis intends to publish before July's Nato summit, as a "typical example of the machine." The MoD, he explained, continues to spend heavily on obsolete legacy programs due to the difficulty of confronting sunk costs. "Take tanks for example – 100 to 200 tanks isn’t the most useful way of spending our money," he stated, noting that cancelling them now would represent a sunk cost of £700 million.

“

I looked at it and I was like, no, no, no, no.