Minister like a worker for large corporates

DEFENCE Secretary Gavin Williamson, in a speech recently, said that to ensure an effective deterrence, UK forces had to have a “presence in the Pacific... the North Atlantic... the Mediterranean... and the Gulf”.

He gave the example of the Royal Navy having to respond on 33 occasions last year to Russian vessels approaching UK waters to justify calls for boosting investment in the UK’s conventional forces.

If Russian vessels approaching UK waters pose a threat, won’t a British military presence in the Pacific, the North Atlantic, the Mediterranean and the Gulf not also pose a threat to countries bordering these regions? It’s a prescription for a global arms race.

But then Williamson and his ilk are just military hardware salesmen. When he retires from ‘politics’ he’ll walk straight into the boardroom of an arms contractor. It’ll be more a promotion than a change of job.

This ‘revolving door’ scenario was highlighted in 2012, when research showed senior military officers and Ministry of Defence officials had taken up more than 3,500 jobs in arms companies over a 16-year period.

Westminster is essentially an executive offshoot for large corporations. Or, in other words, a place of corporate governance.

LOUIS SHAWCROSS Hillsborough, Co Down