tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4839103259021367856.post6685344080669463982..comments2023-11-02T10:42:35.295+01:00Comments on The Daily Brute: QinetiQThe Creatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05637444084451209530noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4839103259021367856.post-31842972476438808102007-11-23T11:51:00.000+01:002007-11-23T11:51:00.000+01:00QinetiQ – the War Profiteer Welsh Politicians Love...QinetiQ – the War Profiteer Welsh Politicians Love to Love*<BR/><BR/>THE National Audit Office (NAO) delivers a stinging rebuke to the Ministry of Defence with the publication of its long-awaited report into the privatisation of QinetiQ, the <BR/>defence-technology group.<BR/><BR/>QinetiQ is a company that has been mired in ethical controversy since <BR/>its very beginning, for claims of taxpayer rip-offs, profit-gouging, <BR/>sweetheart contracts and conflicts of interest. Despite this greed of the highest order, Welsh politicians act as if they could not care less.<BR/><BR/>In January 2007, the QinetiQ-led Metrix Consortium won what is to be the largest investment in Welsh history – a £16 billion contract to build a private military training academy at St Athan, in the Vale of Glamorgan. The project would thrust Wales to the forefront of the global arms trade, since the business model at the heart of the St Athan Academy is to maximise profits by providing training not just to the British Armed Forces, but to militaries from all over the world<BR/><BR/>Privatisation of the military, many fear, as is the case in other <BR/>sectors, can undermine public accountability and erode ideas of public <BR/>service and the public good, while achieving little if anything in the <BR/>way of cost savings. “The only winners in the privatisation of defence <BR/>training,” says Mark Serwotka, General Secretary of the Public and <BR/>Commercial Services Union, “are the shareholders of the Metrix Consortium.”<BR/><BR/>Jill Evans, Plaid MEP, has recently raised concerns about the St Athan <BR/>Defence Training Academy, particularly because of the Consortium members <BR/>behind the project, which include other arms companies like Raytheon.<BR/><BR/>This cosy embrace of QinetiQ by Welsh political leaders over the past <BR/>few years is puzzling, to say the least, given the country’s supposed <BR/>commitment to principles of social justice and fairness, good <BR/>governance, sustainable development and responsible international <BR/>citizenship.<BR/><BR/>We are calling for a public debate about the companies involved in the <BR/>Metrix consortium and we seek assurances that they are not involved in <BR/>corruption or the trade of unethical weapons like cluster bombs and <BR/>depleted uranium.”<BR/><BR/>QinetiQ also helps Wales manage and market its new UAV (Unmanned Aerial <BR/>Vehicle) centre at Parc Aberporth – a facility the government has said <BR/>is a key part of its plans for the regeneration of Cardigan and West <BR/>Wales. Welsh Assembly Members and Ministers, in welcoming QinetiQ to <BR/>Parc Aberporth, have spoken glowingly of its “vast expertise” and <BR/>“international reputation.”<BR/><BR/>PCS the union representing staff involved said "Recently the MoD won awards at a PFI ceremony for privatising more functions than any other Civil Service department. This is a national <BR/>scandal. Companies like QinetiQ were flogged off cheap, and now intend <BR/>to make vast profits from delivering military training. QinetiQ will <BR/>squeeze every penny out of the MoD that it can, while delivering <BR/>training where quality is sacrificed to making profits for its <BR/>shareholders.This does not benefit the people of South Wales or our <BR/>service personnel. It benefits QinetiQ, and that's all they're <BR/>interested in. With recent reports of the breakdown of the military <BR/>covenant, PCS asks is privatising defence training going to make things <BR/>better? Our answer is an uneqivocal 'No!' '"<BR/><BR/>http://www.cynefinywerin.org.uk/<BR/> http://www.nomurderacademyatstathans.com/<BR/>www.metrixconsortium.blogspot.comAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com