Value for money is out the window

The Government has not denied that the cost of delaying the aircraft carriers by up to two years is one billion pounds. In fact a senior Labour minister admitted this last night to me. That's a twenty five per cent increase in costs.

The decision the MOD faced was either to cancel other defence contracts or delay the carriers in order to adhere to annual spending limits. Therefore value for money has been sacrificed in order to mop up after Labour's mismanagement of the public finances and the expensive Iraq war.

Yet, the delay, and the resultant cost increase, also has consequences too as future equipment contracts will not now proceed.

So Labour are busting the bank now so that it will be impossible to pay for the essential equipment for the future.