Barry protest

Peter Collins was waiting for us - expect us to be slhim in the paper tomorrow!

John Smith MP nowhere to be seen!

Barry exhibition of plans for Military academy sparks protest

Apr 4 2009 by Peter Collins, South Wales Echo

A GROUP of protesters staged a demonstration against the £12bn Defence Training Academy when an exhibition of the scheme was staged in Barry.

The protesters, consisting mainly of members of Barry and Vale Friends of the Earth and the No to Military Academy group, unfurled banners outside Barry Memorial Hall Theatre where the exhibition was being held yesterday.

Anne Greagsby, of the No to Military Academy group, said: “There are better ways of boosting the economy.”

She said claims by First Minister Rhodri Morgan there was “overwhelming public support” for the college were greatly exaggerated.

Phil Kingston, of the Penarth Campaign Against the Arms Trade, said: “Major players in this are arms traders and to have them running something that should be independent of business interests seems to be to be a conflict of interest.”

He said the armed forces from some “disreputable” countries would be trained at the college.

A steady trickle of people visited the exhibition.

Albert Tudor, 83, of Queen Street, Barry said: “To me it is a good thing for all sorts of reasons. It is an ideal place for all our armed services and it will also benefit the economy of the area.”

How PR turns a “nimby” public into “overwhelming” support

How PR turns a “nimby” public into “overwhelming” support
- the real story of the St Athan consultation

30 000 leaflets, newspaper notices and 1700 letters to St Athan residents inviting the public to the 4 Exhibition days resulted in the completion of just 40 ‘feedback’ forms (see ”Analysis” **). Moreover, the comments were very critical, including many from St Athan people opposed to closing the Eglwys Brewis Road. Those supervising the exhibitions complaied of ‘nimbyism’.

Wing Cmndr Richard Read put a brave face on it (Academy Logbook in the Glamorgan Gem of 7 August – billed as the “first of his exclusive progress reports”; turned out as his last report too). He wrote of “highly successful public exhibitions” from which he could “sense underlying support” from the demands for information and questions to be answered. Demands went in to see the results on the website, as promised, but nothing appeared till March 2009.

How did they rescue the situation? They decided to keep the Eglwys Brewis road open. Second, they decided to circulate further questions angling for an ‘overall… positive’ response from those who had left addresses. This resulted in 35 further returns. As 75 looks dismally small, they added 10 for forms filled in by couples, calls to the enquiry line, e-mails and comments made via the website to claim a total of “well over 100 comments” (Project brochure, March 2009). Comments and critical questioning of Brigadier Neild at the 14th July meeting were, on the other hand, ignored (curiously Camargue made no record of that meeting with Jane Hutt AM and other notables).

The Q&A prepared in response to feedback ignores criticism of the project as a whole and uncomfortable questions on eg. of Raytheon as an arms dealer and what non-UK forces to be given training. Rather than refer to the ‘Academy’ as it was called at the Exhibitions, the questions are now in Orwellian fashion written to cover the Defence Training College.

Only the 75 feedback forms have been consider for Camargue’s ”Analysis”. Then only the 35 relate to the concluding claim that the “overwhelming majority of respondents” said the plans “represent a positive opportunity for the community”. For the numbers show only 20 would say this of the military college (57%) and 22 of the aerospace park, out of the 35 returns.

On the basis of this exaggeration of a simple majority of a small selection, the First Minister claimed “public opinion is overwhelmingly in favour” of the planned College (breakfast speech of 20 March).

** Published in March 2009 by Camargue On behalf of Metrix and WAG
http://www.stathanconsultation.co.uk/english/pdf/Comment%20analysis%20english.pdf


The objective of this consultation was to seek people’s views on the current proposals for the proposed development of the Defence Technical College and Aerospace Business Park at MOD St Athan and enable them to provide input. (note it was actually called “Defence Training Academy” at that time)

40 forms were returned then the visitors to the Exhibitions were circulated with additional questions, resulting in 35 extras (2 forms from 3 individuals, 10 from couples). The new questions:
# Overall, do you think the development of the Defence Technical College represents a positive opportunity for the local/regional community?
# Overall, do you think the development of the Aerospace Business Park represents a positive opportunity for the local/regional community?
# Are you in favour of the proposals to keep the Eglwys Brewis Road open and improve it in places?
Closing the EB road had generated a lot of opposition, so they decided to drop this in the interim!
The first two additional questions were angled to secure approval, but they still only got 22 and 24 approvals out of the 35.

Twenty comments of support were recorded under ‘general comments’ ranging from ‘support in principle’, e.g. as long as considerations such as traffic were taken onboard, to outright support for the scheme.
Comments included:
• ‘Fully support the development’
• ‘Broadly in favour of the redevelopment due to the economic benefits’
• ‘The concept is highly commendable’
• ‘Although I generally support the development, I have concerns concerning transport and access to the site’
• ‘I think the general concept is good. It will be nice to see the population of the camp back where it was 50 years ago’
• ‘It has been sad seeing RAF St Athan shut down over the years. It will be nice to see it fully operational again’
• ‘My wife and I are in agreement with the proposed Defence Academy’

Conclusion
The overwhelming majority of respondents said they think that both the Defence Technical College and Aerospace Business Park represent a positive opportunity for the community. In addition, a similar number of respondents were supportive of the proposals to keep Eglwys Brewis Road open – demonstrating that the changes made to the draft plan following feedback received at the initial public exhibitions had been welcomed.
-------------

The Q&A prepared in response to feedback (none critical of the project) say

Why can’t the main access to the site be from the south on the B4265?
The main access to the Defence Technical Academy will be via a new access road and junction built from the B4265 to ensure that traffic to and from the site is provided with direct and separate access onto the main road. If the main access to the site was from the south, it would be necessary for all traffic to cross both the railway line and runway making it an unviable option.
However, there are proposals to create an access to the southern area of the Aerospace Business Park, located to the south of the runway, from the B4265.
[many have said the West Camp access should be used, already bridging the railway line; proposing another bridge just for part of the aerospace park cannot be economic. The runway (side spur used for access to workshops) can be done via a light-controlled crossing].

Is there a possibility of a train station at St Athan?
The possibility of reinstating St Athan train station has been considered. However… it is felt that Llantwit Major is the best placed local station to serve the site. In addition, it would be unlikely that an additional station would be supported by Network Rail or the Train Operating Companies without the closure of an existing station on the line.
[shows quite scanty consideration; other excuses are ‘significant signalling works (at Cogan junction!), 1-hour service is not attractive, no trains after 9pm, they would run buses to Llantwit station, and ‘vast’ investment. In fact, a new halt at West Camp/Boverton would be attractive].

How much will the construction of the Defence Technical Academy cost?
The cost of construction of the estate at St Athan will be approximately £700m.
[the ‘College’ and East camp shops, offices, messes and single accommodation is £450m, another £75m would cover 500 service family homes @ £150k, leaving a generous £175m for the swimming pool, athletics track, sports centre, outdoor pitches, small arms range, workshops and storage (west of Picketston) – don’t forget the greenwash ‘new habitat creation’ at West Orchard, that may be taken from the farm but not justified by the downsized Aerospace park.]

And nothing about improving training here just bailing out Red Faces !!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/7967089.stm

PFI-training-plan-jeopardised-by-economic-crisis

Latest series of articles featured in the Telegraph and Guardian and additionally a European publication.

Who would have thought seeing the Telegraph with an article where a Conservitive MP is opposing a privatisation scheme while a Labour MP is defending using PFI.........how times have changed.....

Whilst there is nothing new in the articles it is of interest that the main stream media are now focusing on issues that we and PCS have been raising for the past few years.

From the Telegraph PFI-training-plan-jeopardised-by-economic-crisis

credit crisis derails 12bn mod project

mod-training-project-delay

Credit crisis puts £12bn MoD training project in jeopardy
* Defence training review20delayed for two years
* Downturn may finish off PFI scheme, says ministry
• Richard Norton-Taylor The Guardian, Monday 9 February 2009
• Article history

The government's biggest private finance initiative, a multibillion-pound plan to hive-off training for the armed forces, is in trouble, subject to delays, financial problems, and increases in cost, the Ministry of Defence has said.
The long-planned project, known as the defence training review, first proposed a decade ago, has been put off for at least two years and its estimated initial cost has risen from £11bn to £12bn. The entire project is in doubt, according to independent observers.
Even inside the MoD, there is scepticism despite official optimism. "No decisions have been made, it involves a huge amount of money and the [current] proposal does not meet the needs," a defence official told the Guardian.

Problems faced have been compounded by the economic and banking crisis. Under PFIs, government departments and public institutions, such as schools and hospitals, sign decades-long contracts with firms who then run and finance the projects by borrowing funds.
The idea behind the review is to contract out training for the navy, army, and RAF in a single place, a former RAF aircraft repair base at St Athan, south Wales. Training establishments are currently scattered around the country.

The project involves planning applications and big investments in infrastructure projects as well as the sale of large amounts of existing MoD property. Defence officials have expressed doubts about the impact on military ethos.

Mark Pritchard, Conservative MP for The Wrekin, who stands to lose the Defence College of Aeronautical Engineering at Cosford in his constituency if the project goes ahead, describes it as a "privatisation too far".

He added: "St Athan does not have the infrastructure so it needs new roads etc. We have all that in the West Midlands."
The consortium and finance is unravelling, he continued, giving the MoD a "massive headache". He called on ministers to make an urgent statement in the Commons on the project.
A consortium called Metrix, consisting of Qinetiq, the MoD's privatised former research and development agency and Land Securities Trillium as equity partne rs, was set up to finance and manage the project. But Land Securities recently dropped out, leaving Qinetiq having to look for a new partner.

The review has two phases. The first, now estimated to cost £12bn, covers technical training, including aeronautical engineering and communications and information systems. The second phase, would include logistics, personnel administration, security, languages, intelligence, and photography.

In a statement to the Guardian, the MoD said the project had been "more difficult and prolonged than expected" and could fall victim to the "abnormal market environment" - a reference to its dependence on banks affected by the credit crunch.
The MoD also appeared to be referring to the collapse of the commercial property market and the problems that it may have selling its existing property.
It said "considerable progress has been made towards achieving an affordable, value for money, acceptable and deliverable project". But no contract was likely to be signed until next year at the earliest.

John Smith, Labour MP for the Vale of Glamorgan, which includes the St Athan site, said "the momentum is well and truly with the scheme". He added: "The MoD will find the money."
A spokesman for Metrix told the Guardian: "The programme is going well."
Such confidence is not widely shared. "By ploughing on, the MoD is wasting more and more money. The whole thing is a mess," said Alex Flynn, spokesman for the Public and Commercial Services Union which represents many of the workers involved.

Mark Hellowell, research fellow at Edinburgh University and an expert on PFI, told the Guardian: "Even if the project was affordable, the liquidity in the banking sector is not there to fund it. Given market conditions, it seems likely that some form of government intervention is necessary."

No Military Academy Airport Road

John Petrol Head Smith MP keen to get a new road built to Cardiff airport -

Campaign against the road website

Airport road plan divides opinions Dec 5 2008 by Peter Collins, South Wales Echo

BATTLE lines have been drawn in an increasingly fierce debate on whether a multi-million pound access road to Cardiff International Airport should be built through the Vale of Glamorgan countryside.

The Welsh Assembly Government is expected to announce its preferred route early next year following extensive public consultation which has highlighted starkly differing opinions about the need for such a road and the environmental damage it could cause.

The Vale of Glamorgan-based Plaid AM, Chris Franks, today rejected all three alternative routes put forward by the Welsh Assembly Government, while Vale Labour MP John Smith called for an urgent start to work on the link.

Meanwhile, an action group opposed to what is regarded by many as the most likely option has criticised “deficiencies” in the study into the options and the public consultation on them.

Two of the three options centre on the A4232 from Junction 33 of the M4, while the third promotes a new road link south of J34 of the M4 with an eastern or western bypass at Pendoylan before linking with the A48 at Sycamore Cross.

Mr Franks said all three options should be dropped.

He said: “These options do not stack up economically, environmentally or financially.

“Pumping more than £100m into a scheme would have little benefit for the economy of Barry while causing a huge intrusion as a road is driven through countryside.

“If a scheme is being developed to tie in with the proposed Metrix defence academy scheme at St Athan, then I believe the money would be better put into improving both rail and bus services rather than building a road that is not needed.”

However, Mr Smith called on the Welsh Assembly Government to use some of the £140m provided by the Treasury to build the access road as soon as possible.

Mr Smith said: “The existing airport access road is a brake on the airport’s future growth. If Cardiff International Airport is to continue to be one of the fastest growing airports in the UK and to cope with the extra road traffic generated by the Defence Technical Academy and Aerospace Business Park in St Athan which are on the airport’s doorstep, the road system must be improved.

“I believe the road building will help stimulate the Welsh economy because it will create jobs for local people during the construction phase and inject money into the local economy as workers spend their money locally in our shops and businesses.”

Meanwhile, the NEVAR group (No Ely Valley Airport Road) has petitioned the Welsh Assembly Government on its handling of the consultation into the proposals.

The petition says: “We call upon the Welsh Assembly Government to consider the serious deficiencies in its study and public consultation exercise before making any decision as to road improvements or developments, other than those to reduce congestion at Culverhouse Cross.”

Freedom of infromation link Disclosure log 1396 11/07/07 A member of the has requested information relating to the Cardiff Airport link road here

Miss Harriet Cozens Rail & New Roads Division

Document Download

Scoping Paper (.pdf, 200Kb)

Culverhouse Cross final report (.pdf, 2.68Mb)

Annex C of the Scoping paper (.pdf, 20Kb)

Cardiff Airport Access Report (.pdf, 444Kb)

How much will it cost?

NAO Response to DTR Concerns.

News Published by Cheryl under Cosford, MoD

Following a response from Tim Burr NAO Comptroller to Mark Pritchard dated 17th Nov, members are now receiving a cut and paste response from Mark Andrews Director Defence VFM. Of interest in the response, reference to the total cost of the programme being £12billion was announced in Sept to Mark Pritchard, yet John Smith used £12billion in a question in the House in July 21st. Remember it was only in Nov 07 that after question from Liam Fox they admitted it was £11billion. Also if Department told by Metrix in March that there had been significant cost increase and by May it was unaffordable, then why did the Minister on April 21 2008 tell Mark Pritchard that Package 1 would save taxpayers £400million over the life of the contract ? The affordability of DTR remains sceptical given these inconsistencies. Only in this Country can the NAO decide to investigate after the horse has bolted i.e contract signature.

• NAO Response - Page 1
• NAO Response - Page 2

PFI Filthy housing for service people at St Athan

Defence Procurement Debate 19 June 2008 a complete farce over the sale of Annington Homes, which has left the Army’s housing stock in the hands of a private company here

Now we may have a New Labour bigger Farce....privatsing miltary training and super garrisons...or even McGarrisons! Metrix Serco linked to Japenese Bank Nomura here

Protests as Japanese bank wins share of forces' homes Independent, The (London), Sep 4, 1996 by Chris Blackhurst Westminster Correspondent

Michael Portillo, Secretary of State for Defence, yesterday sparked a welter of allegations about lack of patriotism, sleaze and "Tory fat cats lining their pockets" when the MoD announced the preferred bidder for its pounds 1.6bn married-quarters houses. The winning consortium, Annington Homes, includes Nomura, the Japanese bank, Amec, the construction group which has made rich pickings from previous privatisations, and Royal Bank of Scotland and Hambros, two banks with close links with the Conservative Party

Annington made no secret of its intention to profit from the deal. Sir Tommy Macpherson, the consortium chairman, said it would be seeking a stock market listing in "five to seven years". He refused to be drawn on the expected size of the profit from the share sale, but, if past experience is anything to go by, it will be considerable and will provoke a political outcry.

'Filthy' home angers RAF couple (Military accomadation owned by Japenese bank)
BBC News - UK

An RAF engineer who moved from Scotland to St Athan in south Wales wants to leave the forces because of the state of his family's accommodation there.Aarron Campbell, 22, claims he and his pregnant wife and baby were given "filthy and flea-infested" quarters.........Mr Campbell's wife Davina, 24, was horrified at the standard of their accommodation at the RAF base in the Vale of Glamorgan and said their six-month-old baby Chloe was bitten all over by fleas.

"The MoD sent us to a welfare house while our quarters were fumigated...the place they gave us was disgusting, with ripped carpets, filthy cupboards and kitchen doors hanging off their hinges, " said Mrs Campbell.The couple were moved but that was not much better, she added.

John Smith, the MP for the Vale of Glamorgan, said he had asked the Ministry of Defence to investigate the accommodation at St Athan. "I am deeply concerned. The problem here appears to be that the property was absolutely filthy and that could not have happened 20 or 30 years ago," he said.

"The entire housing stock of the Ministry of Defence was sold to a Japanese bank (Nomura) some 10 or 12 years ago and what that means is the liaison officer on camp has limited control over the standards of these properties.

"It is going to change at St Athan because with the new technical academy being built - the housing accommodation and just as importantly, the single person accommodation, is going to be transformed."

(Really..Heard it all before ...Don't mention The Annington Homes PFI deal which was heavily criticised by the National Audit Office. Michael Portillo sold Ministry of Defence married quarters to Nomura, who then rented them back to the army. The audit office found that Portillo had sold the houses for between £77 million and £139 million less than they were worth.) Story from BBC NEWS: Published: 2008/10/03 07:23:49 GMT

...Back story Sale of Defence Homes 'Cost Millions' here .

A house of Commons Debate on 16 June 2008 re Annington Homes. here
Bob Russell (Shadow Minister, Defence; Colchester, Liberal Democrat)...
As for Annington Homes, will the Minister confirm that over the past 12 years, the Government have paid more rent to Annington Homes than the Tory Government received during the privatisation in 1996? If that money could be invested in upgrading the homes of Army families, instead of lining the pockets of Annington, perhaps retention would be better than it is.

Derek Twigg (Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Minister for Veterans), Ministry of Defence; Halton, Labour) As the hon. Gentleman knows, the amount paid for the sale was around £1.6 billion, and I have written to him with the details of the rent that is being paid. The key thing is that most people now accept that that deal, which was done by the previous Government, was not in the interests of armed forces personnel or their families, and we have had to deal with a legacy of decades of underinvestment.

Linda Gilroy (Plymouth, Sutton, Labour) Not only does that deal not represent good value for money, as my hon. Friend confirmed, but Annington Homes must be making a handsome profit out of the arrangement. People are always looking to the Government for such things, but it is right to look to industries that make handsome profits out of the defence market. What discussions has the Under-Secretary had with Annington Homes to ask what it can do to put money back into the armed services?...

Robert Key (Salisbury, Conservative) But does the Under-Secretary agree that what matters to our armed forces and their families is the quality of the management of those homes? The Defence Committee found lamentable shortcomings in everyday management—taps working, loos flushing—issues that matter so much. In the new supergarrisons, will there be a new housing management system, which is an improvement on the current system?

Serco links to Japensese Bank Nomura here

New Capital in 1999

In early 1999, Nomura International, the European division of a Japanese investment bank, established a £1 billion ($1.7 billion) fund along with Serco for the purpose of bidding on and financing large public infrastructure projects. Two major projects coming up for bidding were those for Britain's National Air Traffic Control System and portions of the London Underground.

Note ..Big profits for defence big guns former Foreign Secretary Lord Owen who is a consultant to Terra Firma which has interests in Annington Homes, owner of MoD properties.

Britain: Government think tank sets out plans for privatisation of ...

The Commission’s sponsors include KPMG, Serco Plc, Nomura Securities, Norwich Union ...Japanese global investment bank Nomura has established a European ..

UFO over St Athan

Is there anybody out there?
WalesOnline -
An anonymous source suggested the incident took place while the helicopter was at 500ft and waiting to land at the Ministry of Defence’s St Athan base in ...See all stories on this topic...sure it wasn't John Smith MP??

Big brother hassles Anti-metrix - St Athan protesters

http://www.cynefinywerin.org.uk/ Anti-Metrix protest march to demonstrate opposition against the St Athan privatised military academy. PCS where there to support the staff whose jobs are threatened and show opposition to the protest - Cynefin y Werin members - CND Cymru and CAAT supporters, Cymdeithas y Cymod and Church, Chapel and other faith representatives. Along with Green Party protestors and speakers Jill Evans Plaid MEP, Davy McAuley of the Raytheon 9 and stop the war.

In an attempt to silence the protesters they were banned from marching through Cardiff city centre as police used the the public order act to suppress opposition and the human right to protest in public. The MOD spend huge sums of money on propaganda and publications especially in the vale of glamorgan and John smith has thousands of pounds to promote the academy and even go in to schools with unbalanced material in favour of the academy. Recently we saw the NUT protest at the MOD & government lies to school children regarding Iraq.

Yesterday - the huge police presence was totally disproportionate and a waste of tax payers money. Police photographers where busy taking pictures and videos - to what purpose - the real criminals and evan murders are the arms dealers Ratheon and serco and the new labour politcans like John smith & rhodri morgan who supported or voted a policy of going to war and this academy to train people to kill.

Yet they want to stop http://www.cynefinywerin.org.uk/ and its suscribing member organisations and supporters like PCS - there defending its members jobs and the public protesting at their expensive failed PFI policy being applied to MILITARY TRAINING.

We don't want a school for mercenaries in Cardiff - we don't need it - we want sustainable jobs to benefit the community not mercenary soldiers to terrorise them and put our young people at risk of rape and worse.

Note this story today Police in court over pictures at arms protest Politics The ...
This article appeared in the Observer on Sunday April 27 2008 on p6 of the ... Arms campaigner Andrew Wood from Oxford claims that his human rights were ...
The power of the police to mount surveillance operations at peaceful protests will be challenged in court this week. In a case seen as opposing Britain's move towards a Big Brother-style society, the High Court will determine if police are legally entitled to take photographs and compile information on protesters even if they do not break the law www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2008/apr/27/police.humanrights -




More Videos of the protest can be found here
Videos of protest Police crahttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZ7WfAG0VxU&eurl=http://cardiffpr.wordpress.com/video/ck down hard as St Athan demo finally awakens mass media
OU out of metrix & St Athan military academy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqJcp8fKR0s
No2 privatised military academy at St Athan -anti-metrix
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyLaZKD47jU
Jill evans 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkrqpPxG_Bo
Jill Evans 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFm3oTxx8Rk

St Athan protest with Davy McAuley 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqJcp8fKR0s
St Athan protest with Davy McAuley 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXCY4usUAHA

Lots of JOBS - Bomb disposal folk wanted urgently

Picture above Dai Havard MP and John Smith MP meet with 2 Royal Welsh Battle Group during the Committee's visit to Basra in July - perhaps they should stay and help out.

Ministry of Defence Annual Report and Accounts 2006-07 HC 61 on Monday 28 January 2008.As explained in the Annual Report and Accounts 2006–07, this reflects the pressure on the Armed Forces resulting from operating above Defence Planning Assumptions, and the constraints on conducting collective training over and above that required for current operations until commitments return to the levels within Defence Planning Assumptions.(Ministry of Defence, Public Service Agreement Report: Quarter 1 2007–2008)

Cost of operations
147. The additional cost of operations, including the cost of Urgent Operational
Requirements (UORs)....WAR to you and me , has been met from the reserve.
On 22 November 2007, Baroness Taylor informed Parliament that the Treasury had provided some £6.6 billion from the reserve to support the additional cost of operations, including some £2.3 billion for UORs.190 Details of the cost of UORs in each of the last five financial years is provided in Table 9.

...The Minister emphasised that the suggestion that the Treasury was “clawing back” more
than the £2 billion already spent on UORs ..war.....

At the same time the Army is short staffed... Royal Engineers Explosive Ordnance Disposal 29%
less than needed ..well I am not surprised ..who wants to be blown up...our young people aren't that dumb. Army Medical Services are short too ..Operation Department Practitioner 45%

- Radiologist 80% - Orthopaedic Surgeon 62% ...well perhaps medical people don't want to have to repair messy unneccessary injuries.And the Navy is short of Petty Officers for Mine Warfare 44% .....sounds dangerous.. So I suppose John Smith MP and Rhodri Morgan will make sure these jobs are promptly displayed in Barry Job Centre where they will be queuing up for them, no doubt to the sound of JOBS.. JOBS...lovely JOBS....any old jobs for Wales....gis your vote and have a career as a bomb disposal person!

So where is all this money Urgent Operational Requirements (UORs)... WARS to you and me...going ...well lots of it is going to Ratheon!
Raytheon, L-3, Alliant Profits Rise on Demand From Iraq War
Bloomberg - USA Jan 31 (Bloomberg) -- US defense companies Raytheon Co., L-3 Communications Holdings Inc. and Alliant Techsystems Inc. said profit rose more than analysts' ...
UPDATE 1-Raytheon profit up on arms sales, raises forecast
Reuters - NEW YORK, Jan 31 (Reuters) - Raytheon (RTN.N: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Thursday fourth-quarter profit rose 64 percent, helped by higher sales of

Disgrace and Bias ITV awards to John Smith

The Campaigner of the Year title went to Vale of Glamorgan Labour MP John Smith. Dr Balsom said, “John Smith’s campaign to bring the Defence Academy to St Athan was a major success. ”
Absolutely disgracful Chairman of the judges Dr Balsom said, “John Smith’s campaign to bring the Defence Academy to St Athan was a major success. Well he would wouldn't he as Welsh Politician of the Year is a competition sponsored by the ITV Wales Yearbook operated by Balsom himself and his PR firm FBA Group PR firm works for Welsh Development Agency
which is promoting the St athan deal!! Oh how balanced and bias is that!Not to forget that they have a great deal of business from Wales Tourist Board & Welsh Assembly Government
Welsh Development Agency

Deputy is Politician of the Yearic Wales, - DEPUTY First Minister Ieuan Wyn Jones was last night named Welsh Politician of the Year in a competition sponsored by the ITV Wales Yearbook. ..

Each winner received a special Mumph cartoon. The awards ceremony will be shown on ITV1 Wales at 11.35pm tomorrow.