New figures unearthed by the Shadow Defence Secretary, Emily Thornberry MP, show that the number of equipment failures reported on army vehicles has shot up since David Cameron came to office, and is now approaching a level of twenty faults every single day.
In 2010, the year of the government’s first Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR), army vehicles suffered a total of 2,981 equipment failures. In 2015, that total rose to 6,818, an increase of 129 per cent in just five years.
Despite the SDSR announcing a 40 per cent cut in the army’s fleet of Challenger 2 Tanks, they have seen their number of equipment failures almost double, from 880 in 2010 to 1,708 in 2015, the equivalent of almost five failures every single day.
Emily Thornberry, Labour’s Shadow Defence Secretary, commenting on the findings, said:
“It is alarming that some of our army’s most vital assets seem increasingly to be falling into disrepair. It is especially shocking that the rate of faults reported on Challenger 2 tanks has risen so sharply, even while their overall numbers are being slashed.
“The government has a fundamental duty to ensure that our troops have equipment and vehicles that are safe to use. Defence ministers need urgently to explain why this responsibility is being neglected on their watch.”
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Notes:
· Figures revealed by the MoD in response to Written Parliamentary Questions from Emily Thornberry show that the number of equipment failure reports in relation to army vehicles has risen sharply since 2010.
· The total number of faults each year was 2,981 in 2010, 2,943 in 2011, 4,115 in 2012, 5,165 in 2013, 6,000 in 2014, and 6,818 in 2015.
· Despite the 40 per cent cut in the number of Challenger 2 tanks announced in 2010, the number of faults they have suffered rose from 880 in 2010 to 1,708 in 2015. For Warrior armoured vehicles, the numbers almost trebled, rising from 535 in 2010 to 1,583 in 2015.
· The only vehicles to have seen a decline in the number of equipment failures in recent years have been Cougar patrol vehicles and Jackal reconnaissance vehicles, as the Army has redeployed from operations in Afghanistan.