Hammond pledges to 'turn around' MoD
Philip Hammond has pledged to turn around the MoD after "years of mismanagement", as a watchdog report warns of "critical shortfalls" in air power.
A National Audit Office review found 16 major projects had been hit by delays and overspend in the past year, despite Government pledges to control costs.
The Defence Secretary said the report was "fair", but claimed the Coalition had been tasked with "turning around a supertanker".
"There were years and years of financial mismanagement, poor project management around MoD projects. And it is going to take a while to turn it round and get the level of performance that we want. But we’re determined to get there," he told the Today programme.
Tim Banfield, a director at the NAO, said there were signs the MoD was "beginning to make more sensible decisions" about buying equipment, but there was still "a goodly way to go" to getting proper value for money.