Swindon MP criticises MoD for wasting money on 'McLaren mudflaps'
Swindon MP Will Stone has criticised the Ministry of Defence (MoD) for wasting money instead of spending on essential military equipment.
The Labour MP for North Swindon, who served in the Army, expressed his concerns during a session in the House of Commons.
He said: "In my time in the Army, I saw first-hand the blokes not getting the kit and the equipment that they needed to operate efficiently.
"It angered me this weekend to read that the previous administration wasted £5 million on McLaren mudflaps."
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Mr Stone's comments came as Defence Secretary John Healey criticised the "pointless" spending on motorsport sponsorship by the MoD under the previous Conservative administration.
Mr Healey said: "We scrapped the £40 million VIP helicopter deal, we've ended the pointless racing car sponsorship and we've saved £300 million from an out-of-control consultancy spend."
He added that the racing car sponsorship "delivered free race day tickets, MoD sponsored branded mudflaps instead of the kit that our frontline troops need and the minister responsible for that deal was the shadow defence secretary, he agreed the contract, he told this House it was a brilliant partnership."
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The Defence Secretary also called for the UK and European allies to "do more of the heavy lifting" by increasing defence spending to help keep the US part of Nato.
He acknowledged the need for more to be done by Nato members as he faced a series of questions from the Tory benches on when the UK Government would increase defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP.
The UK spent 2.3 per cent of its GDP on defence in 2024, according to the latest Nato estimates.
Mr Healey said: "It is time for the UK and European allies to step up, to do more of the heavy lifting and that includes increasing defence spending to meet the threats that we face, it includes – as I've discussed with the new defence secretary in the US – boosting also our defence industry on both sides of the Atlantic."
Shadow defence secretary James Cartlidge focused his questions on the Government's proposed deal on the Chagos Islands, including Downing Street's claims that the "electromagnetic spectrum" at the Diego Garcia base which "enables secure communications in the region" would not be able to continue to operate without an agreement.
Mr Cartlidge said: "It does say everything about this Government's priorities that they are delaying increasing defence spending to 2.5 per cent but accelerating their terrible Chagos deal at a cost of up to £18 billion.
"Last week, the Prime Minister justified his Chagos deal by stating that without it, and I quote, the base cannot operate in practical terms as it should, and that No 10 later briefed that this was referring to satellite links.
"So is the Secretary of State seriously suggesting that there is currently an operational threat to the US and UK military satellite communications at Diego Garcia?"
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Mr Healey said the UK had a "cast-iron" commitment to spend 2.5 per cent of GDP on defence, noting this target had not been achieved since the last Labour government in 2010.
He added: "On the Chagos deal, this is a military base that is vital to our national security, the Prime Minister was right to say its legal certainty had been called into doubt.
"That is bad for our national security and it's a gift for our adversaries, that's why we looked for a deal that would safeguard the operations for at least the next century."
Former Conservative cabinet minister Suella Braverman, who said she believed she was the only MP to have Mauritian heritage, said the proposed deal was a "dangerous one", unaffordable and a "humiliating one in the eyes of the Mauritians, the Americans and the international community".
She asked Mr Healey: "Why won't he scrap it?"
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