Forget cutbacks: stars given free uniforms in £100k MoD handout
THE cash-strapped Ministry of Defence may have been struggling to keep its ships in the water, but I can exclusively reveal it has somehow managed to find around £100,000 to buy flashy uniforms for its celebrity and high-profile ambassadors.
Stars including Carol Vorderman, Bear Grylls, Dan Snow and Sir Chris Hoy have all been handed made-tomeasure uniforms costing almost £900 each, alongsidee impressive sounding honorary y titles to try to encourage new w recruits to sign up.
Although the celebrities are e not paid for their work, they y are expected to wear the unii forms – the same as those worn by the Armed Forces’ officer r class – at public events.
About 120 titles have beenn handed out to eminent individuuals prepared to act as ambassaadors who the MoD says haveve links to the Armed Forces – meaning over £100,000 may have ve already been lavished on thehe scheme. The startling cost of thehe uniforms was revealed in a Freeeedom Of Information request. In it, the MoD admits Sir Chris Hoy’s RAF uniform, consisting of a two-piece suit, cap, shirt, and tie, costs £896.54.
It adds there were no further costs because the Olympic gold medallist ‘did not receive any training’.
Sir Chris – or Group Captain Hoy as he is known – has close family ties to the RAF and was given his rank back in 2014.
TV presenter Ms Vorderman, a qualified pilot, has also been given a suitably smart – and similarly priced – RAF uniform to match her title, Group Captain Vorderman.
TV historian Dan Snow has been promoted to Colonel in the Army Reserve, while adventurer Bear Grylls – an SAS veteran – is now an honorary Lieutenant Colonel in the Royal Marines. The titles even allow them to carry swords while on parade.
Last night, The TaxPayers’ A Alliance expressed outrage at t the lavish spending when I pointed out that one honorary title had been handed to David Morgan-Hewitt, the managing director of the Goring Hotel.
Spokesman Alex Wild said: ‘It n se seems unlikely this is what George Osborne had in mind when he committed us to meetingn Nato’s defence spending ta target. It’s patronising in the ex extreme to suggest people m might be persuaded to join the Armed Forces and potentially pu put their lives on the line because of a celeb endorsement.’
A MoD spokesman said: ‘Honor orary ranks like these are given to ambassadors with close ties to the military who champion the Services; their voluntary work inspires young people, supports recruitment and helps to inform the public.’