Support ship RFA Argus linked up with the Royal Navy’s permanent presence in the region, HMS Medway, to begin their combined disaster relief planning and preparations say the Royal Navy.

According to the Royal Navy here:

“The Royal Navy’s Caribbean task group has joined forces in Montserrat for the first time as it prepares for the impending hurricane season. It’s just six weeks till the storm season begins – and in almost every year for the past couple of decades, Royal Navy or Royal Fleet Auxiliary ships in the Caribbean have been called upon to assist island communities, most recently Bahamians in the wake of Hurricane Dorian last autumn.

In Montserrat, Argus’ air group was reminded of the devastating power of Nature – but not a storm. Half the island – including its capital Plymouth – remains out of bounds, the result of a series of eruptions from the Soufrière Hills volcano, which had been dormant for hundreds of years.”

In addition say the Royal Navy, wherever Argus visits as part of her deployment to the region she’s sending her helicopters – three Merlin troop carriers from 845 Naval Air Squadron and one smaller Wildcat aircraft – into the skies to provide the latest information on helicopter and beach landing sites if the worst should happen.

They’ve already scouted Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands and Anguilla.

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George has a degree in Cyber Security from Glasgow Caledonian University and has a keen interest in naval and cyber security matters and has appeared on national radio and television to discuss current events. George is on Twitter at @geoallison
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Peter Shaw
Peter Shaw
3 years ago

Hopefully the cost of these missions is coming from the bloated overseas aid budget….at least that might be a good way of utilising this £14 Billion per year cash cow….rather than on third world dictators and CEOs of large multi-national NGOs.

Cam
Cam
3 years ago
Reply to  Peter Shaw

Well the millitary have to try make it look like they spend 2% of gdp, but we all know it’s no where near that. After all the cuts in man power and halving our chopper numbers scrapping lots of ships and equipment selling off bases and cutting our fighter jet numbers and staff by half but yet we spend more than we did before they say. Ok new equipment costs money but they must be fidgeting the numbers, and the nuke deterrent shouldn’t be funded out of the millitary budget, hell NATO should help with this NATO DETERRENT, it is… Read more »

Longtime
Longtime
3 years ago
Reply to  Cam

Cam the reason NATO don’t pay for our deterrent is because we want independent control, we still agree to use it to protect NATO too but unlike the “German” NATO deterrent who have to get permission feom other, we can use ours independently. It’s essentially the same reason the French developed their own

Andy P
Andy P
3 years ago
Reply to  Longtime

Agree mate, also I’m not sure we’d like to share our ‘permanent five’ status at the top table with the rest of NATO. There is a logic to say that at least some of the funding for the nuclear deterrent should come from outside the MOD budget as there’s an ‘extra curricular’ aspect to it. It all comes from the same pot ultimately though I guess.

David Flandry
David Flandry
3 years ago
Reply to  Andy P

The nuclear deterrent is not a naval asset, or even defense asset, but a national one. It should never have been assigned to the MoD.

Andy P
Andy P
3 years ago
Reply to  David Flandry

You’d hope that nuclear weapons falls under the auspices of the Armed Forces therefore the MOD though. Its certainly crewed and supported through the MOD so at least partially funded but I get your point. Its a bit like the old Royal Yacht in that regard.

For clarity, I’ve no problem with the MOD contributing (manpower etc) but aye, there should be at least some funding coming from outwith the MOD budget.

Steve
Steve
3 years ago
Reply to  David Flandry

Realistically we don’t have a permanent 5 place, we are just currently in the top 5 of US friendly countries. With the US focus moving to Asia, our importance to them is in turn dropping, and overtime so will our place. Because of this, for our own strategic interests, we need to be more focused on our European Allies than the US

As it stands, i can see in the long term the US will lose interest in us and we will be too far apart from Europe and so end up in no-mans land of unimportance.

Andy P
Andy P
3 years ago
Reply to  Steve

I was meaning top 5 as in Permanent Five on the Security Council.

Steve
Steve
3 years ago
Reply to  Andy P

If you mean the UN security council, our place was defined after WW2 and we could completely demilitarizes and would maintain it, no one has ever lost there spot other than France after it walked away from the UN.

David
David
3 years ago
Reply to  Steve

France still has a permanent seat on the UN Security Council. France did NOT walk away from the UN. What it did, under de Gaulle, was to leave NATO’s military organisation, and by doing this it lost a number of positions in the unified NATO military hierarchy.

Meirion X
Meirion X
3 years ago
Reply to  David Flandry

The delivery system(the submarines), is assigned to, and maintained by the MoD, and crewed by RN personnel.
Are you saying the deterrent needs to be run by a separate national agency with is own staff?
Which could happen I think, if that demand is made too stridently.

Cam
Cam
3 years ago
Reply to  David Flandry

I agree

Cam
Cam
3 years ago
Reply to  Longtime

Thanks longtime ?good to know.

Meirion X
Meirion X
3 years ago
Reply to  Cam

NATO has its own nuclear deterrent provided by the USA, in the form of bombs, and deployed by aircraft of the host nations of, Germany, Italy, Holland, Belgium and Turkey.

Steve
Steve
3 years ago
Reply to  Meirion X

In practice these are independent assets when the push comes to the shove. The bombs are located in the host country, using delivery mechanisms of that country. If they wanted to go nuclear, then they could just match into the US base and take the nukes. Ok that is assuming the US doesn’t quietly remove them from the country before they can be accessed. On the flip side, our ability is pretty limited beyond a first strike, as most of our nukes are stored and maintained in the US, meaning if the US didn’t want us to have access we… Read more »

Daniele Mandelli
Daniele Mandelli
3 years ago
Reply to  Steve

“as most of our nukes are stored and maintained in the US,” Hi Steve Don’t think that is correct. The missiles are periodically rotated through Kings Bay with the general USN pool. The “nukes” – the actual MIRV warheads, as far as I’m aware, are not. Coulport and Burghfield have these. While nuclear materials have often been moved between the UK and US by air from Brize, these are varied components, not “the bomb” “We would have to create the facilities to maintain the ones we had, assuming we have the know how” We do maintain our “warheads” and we… Read more »

SoleSurvivor
SoleSurvivor
3 years ago
Reply to  Peter Shaw

Seventh time I have asked you

How much of the 2019 aid budget went to third world dictators?

George
George
3 years ago

Hi folks hope all are well Yes agree about funding such missions along with current deployments for Covid19 should come from other budgets if not already. If I recall was there not a shift of funds from the over seas fund by the former Minister (can’t recal her full name Penny somthing?) Allocated to the MOD budget for such deployments. But of course the over seas fund should be reviewed as important as it is for soft power, time as come post Covid to shift funding over to the MOD considering it is the active practical arm of HMG. Cheers… Read more »

Andy P
Andy P
3 years ago
Reply to  George

There are definitely issues with the International Development Fund, not sure if its still the case but we were (are ???) sending money to India who have their own space program and nuclear weapons. I get the ‘soft power’ aspect of it and I’ve no problem helping out countries that could do with a help up, assuming their not run by despots but I’d rather see the money spent on what it was originally set up for than the ‘soft power’ angle of buttering up wealthy countries. As an aside, is this possibly the weakest ‘Task Group’ ever to be… Read more »

Cam
Cam
3 years ago
Reply to  Andy P

And India actually says they don’t want our money lol all the wile many millions yes millions of homeless starving children are all over India…most can’t read or write just like lots of indias population outside of citys. India is a joke.

Cam
Cam
3 years ago
Reply to  Cam

Oh and they blame Britain for everything that sucks in India…

Andy P
Andy P
3 years ago
Reply to  Cam

In fairness, they’re having their industrial revolution now, we weren’t that different when we had ours. I’m not trying to justify any of it but just trying to give some context.

Steve
Steve
3 years ago
Reply to  Andy P

No question the UK did historically cause a mess with India and we have a responsibility to help fix that. Saying that, 60 odd years have passed and probably the corruption etc in the country is now more to blame. Like was said, our own history was also full of corruption in the industrial revolution era, so hard to judge.

Andy P
Andy P
3 years ago
Reply to  Steve

I wasn’t even thinking of the corruption, probably naive of me. Just saying that India’s (and China, Brazil etc) are doing what we did so not a lot of moral high ground in tutting about them doing it now instead of a few hundred years ago ‘like wot we dun’.

Steve
Steve
3 years ago
Reply to  Andy P

Yeah was agreeing with you.

Although i don’t really think the corruption in the UK has reduced, it has just moved and gone more in the shadows (lots of the mega rich doing business in the UK because they know they can get away with a lot more here) and mainly ignored as the overall living standard of the country has risen.

Peter Shaw
Peter Shaw
3 years ago
Reply to  Steve

Have some balance Steve. We weren’t colonial France. We built massive amounts of infrastructure in India. Railways, schools, universities, modern army, navy, modern agriculture and Delhi was the third place in the world after New York and London to have the telegraph (first modern telecommunications). We also got rid of the thugee cult and the burning of wives if their husbands died. India has a hell of a lot of things to be grateful for the British for in the past. The partition of India debacle was because Ghandi and Jinnah couldn’t compromise; not because of the British. So please… Read more »

Steve
Steve
3 years ago
Reply to  Peter Shaw

Whilst semi true, the investments were purely self interest investments, they were all focused on getting the resources out of the country to sell. Very little of it helped the local people beyond what was needed. There were many positives of the empire, but I fear the negatives massively outweigh them.

But that is judging the past with the eye of today, which is unfair as we weren’t a lot better domestically, and as indicated if we hadn’t done it, there were plenty of other colonial powers that would have replaced us.

Peter Shaw
Peter Shaw
3 years ago
Reply to  Steve

Steve investments were self-interest? When are they not? Semi-true? Which elements of what I stated aren’t actually fact? The Muslim empire or Mughal empire that ruled India in the 16th and 17th century was absolutely brutal. The Muslim conquest of India between the 12th and 16th century is ranked as the largest genocide and forced conversion in human history. The Hindu kush is named the Hindu Kush because it means Hindu slaughter for instance. Some 80,000,000 people died in the Muslim conquest of India right up until the East India company took control. The East India company ruled well restoring… Read more »

Paul.P
Paul.P
3 years ago
Reply to  Steve

I am struggling to see how an excellent civil service, railway network, eliminating widow burning, the English language, replacing the oppressive Muslim Moghul empire, a justice system based on English Law, cricket, entitlement to an Empire free pass immigration visa to the Motherland and providing an overarching Christian culture to keep the peace between the Muslim and Hindu headbangers constitute a negative legacy.

Peter Shaw
Peter Shaw
3 years ago
Reply to  Paul.P

Paul unfortunately there is an overriding revisionism these days to blame the British empire for everything….and more insidious is the blame attached to privelaged middle aged white males. Study one fact about the worst performing pupils in UK schools….white working class males (fact from the DoE and ONS)…this is overwhelming because of a lack of investment and white working class males are bottom of the heap…The grammar school system dismantled, patrotism a dirty world…But the prevailing views are that this is because white working class men and women are racist chavs incapable of higher thought that voted for evil things… Read more »

OldSchool
OldSchool
3 years ago
Reply to  Steve

Err…..how exactly did Britain make a ‘mess’ of India? By giving it technology, good goverance, protection….I’m somewhat at a loss here….

Daveyb
Daveyb
3 years ago
Reply to  Steve

You fail to mention any of the good that we did in India.

Peter Shaw
Peter Shaw
3 years ago
Reply to  Daveyb

Dave I gave a summary of the good things above that Steve failed to mention.

Steve
Steve
3 years ago
Reply to  Peter Shaw

I am not saying there isn’t good done but lets face it a lot of bad was also done and that can not be ignored, as a lot of the stuff was pretty horrific even by the standards of the time.

julian1
julian1
3 years ago
Reply to  Cam

Your comments about India are almost Trumpian in tone. I have worked with scores of brilliant, hardworking Indian people. Slowly but surely, Indians and people of Indian heritage are taking on very senior positions in industry and government. Yes, they are Indians outside of India, but many of them still retain a very strong link to their motherland and will return. I think India has a huge future ahead of it

Peter Shaw
Peter Shaw
3 years ago
Reply to  julian1

Julian it is just a political reality just like the class system in the UK there cast system in India casts a terrible shadow. I would agree Indian people are hardworking and have incredible abilities which are now being recognised. I think the UK should be forging a great alliance between the commonwealth and the Anglo-sphere in general. This will act as a counterweight with China. Famously Dean Acheson Said “Great Britain has lost an empire and has not yet found a role”. I think the role was already there but we got distracted by joining the EEC and EU.… Read more »

Grubbie
Grubbie
3 years ago

Bermuda spent $77million hosting the Americas Cup. Look at how much a hotel room will set you back for 1 night.

Steve
Steve
3 years ago
Reply to  Grubbie

I am really curious to know how much tax revenue, towards the UK budget, the overseas territories raise. I have tried to find the data in the past.

It would be interesting to know if these tax havens actually pay their way for all the UK expenditure that goes there way. I realise that if they were not a tax haven, no company would go there and they would have almost no economy, but still curiousl

BB85
BB85
3 years ago
Reply to  Steve

I’d say they cost the UK tax payer a lot more than they raise through being a tax haven. The problem is if they didn’t do it there are plenty of other small countries willing to take the clients so better to let them work away if it balances their books.

Steve
Steve
3 years ago

Based on the picture, Argus has set sail with no weapon systems, especially no CIWS. I am curious how it would work, if a conflict occurred tomorrow. How do we get them armed and ready to join the fight, in a timely mannor. Kinda the same with the frigates and destroyers. I assume they are not fully armed with all tubes filled, and it seems they can’t be rearmed at sea (at least not in peacetime, maybe in emergency situation they would risk it), so how do we get a task force together. I assume the various cargo planes would… Read more »

Nigel Collins
Nigel Collins
3 years ago
Reply to  Steve

Phalanx CIWS $5.6M, RAM launchers $1M-$450k per missile.
Now compare that to the cost of replacing a lost ship!

https://news.usni.org/2018/05/31/raytheon-awarded-lcs-horizon-anti-surface-weapon-contract-deal-worth-848m

BB85
BB85
3 years ago
Reply to  Steve

Considering the current Type 23 are not fitted with CIWS, I wonder if new equipment will be ordered for Type 26.

Herodotus
3 years ago

I wonder that there is any skin left on the IDF drum the rate that it is banged on this website! If anyone has any clear facts about abuse and corruption, that are verifiable, then perhaps you could post them? If not, then in the words of Jack Reagan “Shut it”…….

Steve
Steve
3 years ago
Reply to  Herodotus

If your talking about Indian corruption, there are plenty of facts out there, start with transparency international rating and then look at the various Indian government pledges to cut corruption. India is a nuclear nation, that has a space program, and yet most of its nation lives in Poverty. I am sure the British investment (now significantly reduced over past years) mainly goes to good causes, but i would question why in a world full of poor countries we invest in a pretty wealthy one (5th largest GDP in the world and larger than the UK) where the money just… Read more »

BB85
BB85
3 years ago
Reply to  Herodotus

https://www.theweek.co.uk › fo… How is the UK’s foreign aid budget spent? | The Week UK No one is disputing the UK foreign aid budget has good intentions, but you would need to be extremely naive to believe a significant amount of it is not wasted and being squandered through poor oversight and corruption. There where articles in the early days that said because ministers where struggling to meet their spending targets they knew full well it was being squandered. All people are asking for is that more of it is spent at home to deliver aid to British dependancies where… Read more »

Herodotus
3 years ago
Reply to  BB85

Agreed….how British taxpayers money is spent is a legitimate matter for discussion! But, the inference is (from some contributors) that a bunch of incompetent fools are syphoning off taxpayers money to support corrupt foreign officials and CEOs of large charities. No doubt, cockups are made during the course of distribution and we have a right to ensure that proper auditing is done….by an independent authority…not HM’s Civil Service! However, let us remember, before certain members of the Monday Club join in, that this is a Conservative Government and not one known for wishy washy liberal policies. People tend to buy… Read more »

expat
expat
3 years ago
Reply to  Herodotus

I can only share my personal experience for example post tsunami 2004 bumping into a prominent NGO worker in a bar listen to them bragging about his 6 figure salary!! Over the years I’ve met quite a few ‘aid’ workers and to be honest its a bit of gravy train especially at the top of these organisation. If you want to deliver aid do it yourself, its the only way you guarantee it gets where its needed.

Herodotus
3 years ago
Reply to  expat

That’s disappointing…you should have reported him. Mind you, having spent a good number of years abroad, I usually tried to avoid expats. Amongst the good-ones there was always a liberal splash of Walter Mittie’s….sad little gits that wouldn’t have made post boy back in good old blighty.

SoleSurvivor
SoleSurvivor
3 years ago
Reply to  Herodotus

They always seem to meet these aid workers right after scandals or natural disasters, it was never last week, or last month, or a random Tuesday last year I had a guy on here last week who as if by magic heard first hand witness testimonies in Haiti itself from victims of corrupt aid workers after the Red Cross scandal And then the classic aid worker drinking champagne stuffing £50’s into g strings in full view of someone who just so happens wants the aid budget reduced, ready to tell all about it when discussing the aid budget on a… Read more »

Peter Shaw
Peter Shaw
3 years ago
Reply to  SoleSurvivor

That last paragraph says a huge amount about your mental reasoning SoleSurvivor…..Many of these things are not anecdoctal – taking people out of the equation – they are fact that the charity world has well documented issues with abuse of power and entitlement. This is similar to all other walks of life but certain things make this a hell of a lot worse. The fact is until the stone was turned over and all these nasty things started crawling from underneath the charity sector was one of the sacred cows. Look at the kids company scandal. The head of this… Read more »

expat
expat
3 years ago
Reply to  Herodotus

Not sure what I would have reported him for apart from being obnoxious.

SoleSurvivor
SoleSurvivor
3 years ago
Reply to  expat

“If you want to deliver aid do it yourself, its the only way you guarantee it gets where its needed.”

Thankfully most people don’t see it that way

Most people would rather text donate a few quid, or drop a nugget into a bucket in the shopping centre, than travel by plane, train and automobile to South Sudan, sourcing a polio vaccination kit, and injecting it into a little black kid in a village

Herodotus
3 years ago
Reply to  SoleSurvivor

I’m not sure that it is a coincidence, but since Kier took over all my local Labour Party emails have been redirected to the junk folder. A conspiracy no doubt!!!

Peter Shaw
Peter Shaw
3 years ago
Reply to  Herodotus

Not part of momentum are we Herodotus…perish the thought…

Herodotus
3 years ago
Reply to  Peter Shaw

No, I’m not! Next question Bamber Gascoigne!

SoleSurvivor
SoleSurvivor
3 years ago
Reply to  Herodotus

Wouldn’t surprise me, I think the shift to importance of voters not members, like they did under Blair is pretty obvious now

You can see this in Starmers reluctance to go hard on the government now, he won’t win power without a pretty large number of 2019 Tory voters

expat
expat
3 years ago
Reply to  SoleSurvivor

Perhaps I didn’t make myself clear, I meant at the government level thus cutting out the middle man. The OP was about those involved getting high salaries from NGOs, I can only share my experience others have to choose if they believe it. But perhaps a quick google yourself could be a little enlightening, Sir Nicholas Young perhaps earning 185k per year in 2013. OK he’s the big boss but then take more middle tier perhaps 60-70k, they living overseas so then get rent/accommodation paid, private schooling, private health care for the family, travel allowance, perhaps per a diam or… Read more »

Peter Shaw
Peter Shaw
3 years ago
Reply to  expat

Expat this is precisely what I do…I only give to local charities where I know that most of the funds end up delivering in the UK. I like the words of Herodutus that if we object to overseas aid we should just “shut it”. That’s democracy in action there….The 0.7% figure is made up non-sense based upon zero economic arguments now set into stone against the will of the public. What I say is that we should have a referendum on this issue and see what the general public vote…give them options from an increase, to a decrease or to… Read more »

SoleSurvivor
SoleSurvivor
3 years ago
Reply to  expat

You’re talking government level fair enough Well we do deliver some of the aid ourselves, through British NGO’s using British aid workers but I don’t think there would be much money saved if we stoped giving money to NGO’s, and it’s not really as simple as saying we can do it ourselves to deliver and administer millions of vaccinations, in fact that would probably cost a lot more, and it’s an annual thing this, in Africa, Asia, Middle East and South America, how would we do that? With the army? the British army does not have the resources or manpower… Read more »

Peter Shaw
Peter Shaw
3 years ago
Reply to  SoleSurvivor

Love your racist language SoleSurvivior “little black kid”….typical patronising attitude like African people cannot help themselves out of poverty they need some left wing momentum activist to look after them as they are too stupid and too weak to look after themselves…Sounds like you have a bit too much of the white saviour syndrome in you…perhaps you should rename your moniker “WhiteSaviour”. Fortunately there are sensible intelligent people like me that believe in free trade and a hand up not a hand out….

SoleSurvivor
SoleSurvivor
3 years ago
Reply to  Peter Shaw

Coming from you, who above is peddling one of the biggest myths of all about the British in India, that without us they would be living in the Stone Age without railways etc, that’s white saviour in a nutshell It’s weird you being so intelligent and all not knowing that, tell me what book on the British empire have you read where you get that viewpoint? Because I have read several and they all have the same consensus, that Britain never spent a penny in India, the Indian taxpayer payed for every single mile or railway themselves, at 8 times… Read more »

SoleSurvivor
SoleSurvivor
3 years ago
Reply to  SoleSurvivor

Paid*

Peter shaw
Peter shaw
3 years ago
Reply to  SoleSurvivor

Hit a raw nerve SoleSurvivor….best to stick around with your momentum mates like Herodotus. Overseas aid will be cut eventually as it doesn’t work. My guess is you work in the aid industry….

Herodotus
3 years ago
Reply to  Peter shaw

I agree Peter, great idea about having a referendum on the issue of foreign aid….how clever of you 🙂

Peter Shaw
Peter Shaw
3 years ago
Reply to  Herodotus

A referendum on the issue would solve it once and for all and we could put all the facts of abuse of power, entitlement and the more effective means of ending poverty like eliminating tax havens, tax evasion and avoidance as well as free trade into the public sphere. Have you ever wondered why Bill Gates likes charities? They offset his tax liabilities (tax deductible) and makes him look like a Saint at the same time (win-win). Also it enables him to cover massive tax avoidance in offshore tax havens and low tax regimes by his company. As I say… Read more »

Herodotus
3 years ago
Reply to  Peter Shaw

Dear me, you do have a jaundiced view of the world….have you ever considered that you might be a reactionary! 🙂

peter Shaw
peter Shaw
3 years ago
Reply to  Herodotus

Why jaundice? It’s just a different opinion from yours that is all. I state my case and you state your case. Then people way up the evidence and come to a conclusion. I respect your views even when I think you are wrong. It’s called a healthy difference of opinion. Robust debate is what is needed in the UK so that we can determine optimal policies. People are too quick to no platform, say people are crazy etc. This is similar to what happened in the Brexit debate. Both sides had good arguments and people opinion weighed them up and… Read more »

SoleSurvivor
SoleSurvivor
3 years ago
Reply to  Peter Shaw

A referendum will never happen on it, the Tory government are all massively in favour of it, there is only very small political will for maybe a slight reduction, you’re in dreamland And you’re in bigger dreamland with this fantasy that removing the aid industry will fix massive worldwide geopolitical issues, in fact it’s absolutely ludicrous to suggest it, removing influence and investment from many countries with different political systems with poor populations and fragile economies would lead to more instability and chaos, there is no proof whatsoever to back up your claims, the problems you’re talking about would need… Read more »

peter Shaw
peter Shaw
3 years ago
Reply to  SoleSurvivor

From the NAO about DFID (some choice phrases):

DFID’s central fraud team investigated 93% of the 429 fraud allegations made in 2015-16 and provided advice on the rest. DFID’s fraud caseload quadrupled between 2010-11 and 2015-16 and it received 475 new allegations during the nine months to 31 December 2016.

Between 2003 and 2016, non-governmental organisations accounted for nearly 40% of reported fraud cases. Since 2003, DFID has recovered around two-thirds, by value, of the reported fraud loss.

Telling me that NGOs don’t involve major fraud…made me spit out my cornflakes….

SoleSurvivor
SoleSurvivor
3 years ago
Reply to  peter Shaw

When debating on the internet always remember that the person you’re debating with also has google From the same report “Annual gross losses owing to fraud in 2015-16 were around 0.03% (£3.2 million) of DFID’s budget. Between 2003 and 2016, non-governmental organisations accounted for nearly 40% of reported fraud cases. Since 2003, DFID has recovered around two-thirds, by value, of the reported fraud loss.” “The number of allegations of fraud reported to DFID has increased, as a result of its work to increase awareness of fraud and reporting requirements among its staff and suppliers.” To put into context, 1% of… Read more »

peter Shaw
peter Shaw
3 years ago
Reply to  SoleSurvivor

I’m curious SoleSurvivor what’s your career?

peter Shaw
peter Shaw
3 years ago
Reply to  SoleSurvivor

The key statement SoleSurvivor is the following:

The number of allegations of fraud reported to DFID has increased, as a result of its work to increase awareness of fraud and reporting requirements among its staff and suppliers. This is more difficult to achieve in 55% of its expenditure, which is routed through multilateral bodies, where DFID does not have direct control over all the funds it provides and relies on multilateral bodies’ systems.

In 55% of its expendture it has no control on fraud…Interesting….

SoleSurvivor
SoleSurvivor
3 years ago
Reply to  peter Shaw

The key statement is 0.03%

Fraud in the DFID is a small part, there is no evidence to suggest anything different, just like all government departments

Nobody is saying it does not exist, of course it does, I have always said that, but it has been explained to you many times of where all the money gets spent and how fraud is a small part of it, and you still try to peddle that it all gets wasted

How much of the 2019 aid budget went to third world dictators??

peter Shaw
peter Shaw
3 years ago
Reply to  SoleSurvivor

Pakistan is essentially a military dictatorship, Paul Kagame in Rwanda…the list goes on….

SoleSurvivor
SoleSurvivor
3 years ago
Reply to  peter Shaw

The money in Pakistan goes on enterprise and security among other things, it does not go to their leader, this was explained to you last week, that type of aid is the kind we have most accountability on You said most of the aid budget goes to third world dictators, please reply with exactly how much and what percentage of the 2019 aid budget went to third world dictators?? Your entire viewpoint is based on small proportions which you know nothing about, you know absolutely nothing about the DFid apart from fraud investigations you have googled to try back up… Read more »

peter Shaw
peter Shaw
3 years ago
Reply to  SoleSurvivor

The fraud investigated is that which they have found which is usually the most obvious type of fraud. In addition we don’t know about the other 55% sent through international organisations.

OOA
OOA
3 years ago

I thought for a second that was a Westland Whirlwind parked up aft….

Herodotus
3 years ago
Reply to  OOA

So did I….Pilots of that era said that they liked the visibility the high seating position gave them….especially in the turbine powered Wessex. The latter was an impressive performer in the hands of the RN Marines.