The House of Commons Public Accounts Committee has just published the report of its inquiry into "the use of information to manage the logistics supply chain". Media reporting highlights comments in the report that the IT systems used to manage the complex supply chain were "not adequate for the task".

As a result, the risk of failure of these warehouse inventory systems was considered "extremely high" - and was recently rated as "critical" by the MoD's Defence Logistics Board. The report said: "If these systems fail, then the result could be shortages at the front line within as little as 30 days."

Responding to the report, Defence Minister Peter Luff MP said that "Ensuring our armed forces on the frontline have all they need is a top priority and there are no shortages in Afghanistan."

• Public Accounts Committee Publications - browseable and PDF versions of the report
• Press Association - Military  supply chain 'could fail'
• Independent - MoD supply chain 'at risk of collapse'

It's the result of many hours of hard work and the grandest day in the Sandhurst calendar, as friends, family and VIPs gather to watch Officer Cadets take part in their final challenge - the 166th Sovereign's Parade. For the first time all of the cadets currently at Sandhurst were on parade including the junior division, with 242 passing out.  BritishForcesNews reports (12 Aug).

The Ministry of Defence has become "more wasteful" and "worse at caring" for Armed Forces personnel since the Coalition took office, military staff and defence officials believe. The Daily Telegraph reports on the results of polling for the MoD's annual report:

Today's Scotsman leads with claims by former officers that the Ministry of Defence decision to move the army out of Edinburgh and sell off its historic buildings is financially driven, unpopular and gives the impression of "chaos at the top". BAFF comment: The availability of land for a new major training area is likely to be a major element in this decision, but the needs of personnel and their families also need be taken into account. The Scotsman story continues:

The Ministry of Defence has apologised after thousands of recently-retired veterans were underpaid their pensions. The former RN officer who discovered the error has criticised SPVA for "being happy to sit back and not inform them they were being paid incorrectly". The Belfast Telegraph reports that:

British Airways wants to hire 800 new pilots by 2016 using three combined recruitment programmes, including a joint initiative with the armed forces to take on personnel due to leave the service. People Management Magazine reports that:

The Library of the House of Commons has produced a timely information note for MPs which examines the possible roles of the police and armed forces in controlling riots.

A former commander of British Forces in Afghanistan has said that bringing in the Army to help quell the riots in London, Manchester and across the country would be a step too far. A report by ForcesNews continues:

Writing in The Times newspaper, Colonel Richard Kemp said: “The last thing we want is for British troops to face rioting mobs on the streets of the UK again.”

Colonel Kemp, who himself experienced rioting firsthand during a tour of Northern Ireland, instead argued that water cannons and plastic bullets might be a feasible option.

“I have seen several situations in the past few days where these weapons would have saved injury and destruction of property,” he said.

So far COBRA, the government’s emergency committee has excluded the possibility of deploying military forces onto the UK’s streets.

Last night saw comparatively less violence and disorder in London, with small skirmishes breaking out only in a few areas such as Canning town.

The Prime Minister David Cameron returned early from his summer holiday in an attempt to regain control over the capital, with an extra 10,000 police officers being deployed on the streets of London last night.

However, there were more serious incidents in the north of the country with rioting and looting occurring in Salford, Manchester and Birmingham.

• BFBS ForcesNews source (10.08.2011)
• On this website (09.08.2022) - London riots: 'Army should be last resort, say experts'