In judging the merits of any press article, you have to look at who wrote it and the newspaper in which it appears. Thus judged, the MoD story currently being circulated has two handicaps – it is written by James Kirkup and is published by The Daily Telegraph. The latter is increasingly a very major handicap, but the former is almost invariably fatal. Trusting to that lightweight fool – a fool amongst fools, so to speak – is not the best of counsels. Nevertheless, the lightweight Kirkup has clearly got hold of something, the importance of which he cannot entirely disguise, even if one would not expect him to understand its precise nature.

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The biggest problem is that the same can be applied to many politicians, especially once they become part of the Government. They want little more than to go with the flow, do what some bigger authority says and feather their own nest. The MoD are incapable of pushing back against Ministers and Ministers are incapable of pushing back against Civil Servants. Yet the mechanism for doing so is right before their eyes - Parliament!

Butlins would pay good money for assets such as this

'Cept the MPs are no longer up to the job.

Needs more swimming pools.

quick artist's impression - swimming pools will look good.

Pools can be extended if development can be extended into the field opposite, where there could be an indoor facility built connected to the outdoor bit.

I'm surprised Sir Jock Strap's got such a face on him, he's just pulled off the RAF's ancient plan to destroy the Fleet Air Arm. You'd think he'd crack a smile for once.