Question over St Athan plan as costs rise £3bn

Question over St Athan plan as costs rise £3bn Article by James McCarthy Western Mail today It doesn't say that Chris Bryant MP continues to lobby for the Metrix PFI having been paid £2,500 so far by Bell Pottinger their PR firm. And he gets a free dinner - Chris is hosting a dinner for Metrix at his party conference!

Huge Metrix Bell Pottinger PR machine

Private Eye has an article today highlighting how much of a fan of the £14bn Metrix project is Chris Bryant labour MP! This new college is now to have many fewer trainees than first expected down to 2,500 and just a few hundred jobs not the 5,000 he continues to claim!! And now we know why as he had a nice cheque for £2,500 from Bell Pottinger lobby group for Metrix  (Raytheon, Serco, Quinetiq, Sodexo/Kalyx) "However money in the shape of the imminent strategicc defence and security review rather than common sense is the biggest threat to the contract prompting Metrix to launch a public relations campaign of military proportions  through PR advisor Bell Pottinger." from private eye 20 Aug - 2 Sept!

We have also heard that a new all party parliamentary group pro Metrix has been sponsored by Chris Bryant of course and Tory MP Alun Cairns!

And then theres the Party conferences happy to take funding and a free dinner from anyone it seems. Metrix are busy organising invites to conference dinners! Kirsty Williams Lib Dem leader seems happy to host a dinner on Metrix behalf. Jenny Willott Lib Dem MP Cardiff Central is one of the first to be invited to the Metrix conference dinner on the 19th July at the lib dem conference in Liverpool. Others on the invite list are Nick Harvey MP, Danny Alexander MP and his special adviser Julia Goldsworthy who as a fromer MP spent over a grand on a rocking chair! 
No money spared from the pro metrix lobby! Where are the democrats?

We are not surprised Chris Bryant Lab MP will be hosting a METRIX dinner at the Labour conference in Manchester or that Alun Cairns MP will be hosting a METRIX dinner at the Tory conference!   

This whole project should be rejected given the huge cost and the fact it is a PFI with no flexibility plus outdated planning for a massive college which isn't needed now the number of trainees is greatly reduced and could be catered for elsewhere in existing military bases such as Cosford. And there is the risk to our forces whose training will suffer at the hands of Metrix members Raytheon and Serco who have just been booted off a huge immigration contract because they were unfit for the job!

Chris Bryant cheer leader for Raytheon

Chris Bryant (Rhondda, Labour) to the Prime Minister

"He will know that one of the most important things for protecting our armed forces is ensuring that they have the best training possible, technically and in military expertise. Will he therefore commit himself and his Government unambiguously today to the new defence training college in St Athan in south Wales, which would save lives in our armed forces and provide 5,000 jobs in south Wales?

Chris Bryant jumps in with wrong statistics (PMQs as reported below).

At the St Athan cpo Inquiry Metrix gave 2000 jobs (plus 1000 military staff), not Bryant's 5000.

The total jobs planned by Metrix is of course many fewer than currently engaged

at the training facilities St Athan would replace.

Why does big-mouth Bryant claim it would "save lives"?? Seems he has taken up the position of cheer leader for arms dealers and the privatisation of war! Perhaps he is looking to line his own pockets with a job with Metrix along with ex MP John Smith ..

He added "We need to get through to David Cameron that the Metrix case is far from

"incredibly strong". Rather, it's high cost and incredibly over-blown. Privatising training would  jeopardise the safety of the troops and cost more.

In England, the Transport Minister has frozen a whole number of transport projects.

Is the WAG Minister going to do likewise, including the new access road just

advertised for tenders. Which of our AMs will challenge Ieuan Wyn Jones to accept

that the Defence Review now due to report at end of the year may cancel the

Metirx project, so it's irresponsible and reprehensible to cause firms to undertake

premature work in tendering?

Bryant: Wales needs St Athan

Jun 10 2010 by Our Correspondent, Rhondda Leader

MP CHRIS Bryant challenged the new Prime Minister to pledge to build a
military training academy in South Wales.

But David Cameron said he couldn't confirm or rule out the siting of a
defence academy, near Barry, until after an MoD review.

The Conservative leader then turned the question back on the Rhondda MP and
his Labour colleagues, accusing them of squandering the chance to complete
the planned St Athan centre while they were in power.

Mr Bryant, who was re-elected last month, and served as Europe Minister
under ex-PM Gordon Brown, told the Commons: "A lot of young men from the
Rhondda, and other South Wales valleys, are still serving in Iraq,
Afghanistan and elsewhere at the moment.

"The most important way to protect our armed forces is to make sure they
have the best training possible.

"Will [Mr Cameron], therefore, commit his government, unambiguously, to the
new defence training college in St Athan, which would save lives and provide
5,000 jobs."

Mr Cameron, facing his first weekly Prime Minister's Questions session,
said: "Everybody who has spent time in South Wales, and spent time with the
military, will know there is an incredibly strong case for the St Athan
establishment.

"But he [Mr Bryant] will understand that we have got to have a proper
strategic defence review. We haven't had one since 1998, and everything has
to be included in that review.

"But if he feels so strongly about this, and given that he was in the last
government, there was the opportunity to give the project the go-ahead
before the last election - and they didn't do it."

Defence dominated Mr Cameron's debut Prime Minister's Questions, which he
opened by paying tribute to Corporal Stephen Curley, 26, Marine Scott
Taylor, 21, and 20-year-old Gunner Zak Cusack, who were killed in
Afghanistan that week.

Belfast North MP Nigel Dodds raised the issue of soldiers who return from
service with injuries or psychological trauma, and asked that they "get the
care and compassion they need and deserve - despite all the budgetary
pressures."

Mr Cameron said his health and defence teams were working together to
improve care for ex-servicemen and women.