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Defence Acquisition

I say, seriously, that the noble Earl is asking the right question. It is to the credit of the previous Secretary of State that he asked for this review, which constitutes a true pulling up of the carpet in having a look at this process. It is to the credit of the present Secretary of State that he has accepted this very critical report in its entirety and that the department has accepted its recommendations and is committed to implementing them. The answer to the noble Earl’s question concerns the complex reality of delivering the most technologically sophisticated equipment, in the context of the speed of technology change, in order to achieve the important goal of delivering military capability where lives are at stake. This challenge of defence procurement is huge. That is no excuse, but we should not underestimate what it will take to fix it. I truly believe that the Gray review has got to the heart of this problem in a way that no other review has done, and I am committed to ensuring that Bernard Gray’s recommendations are now implemented.