Hebrides Range in action

Guga curry takes its revenge

This just in, via The Register:

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced yesterday that HMS Dauntless, second of the class, has made the first firing from a Type 45 of the French-made Aster missiles with which the ships are armed. All previous trial shoots were carried out using a test barge at French facilities in the Mediterranean.

According to the MoD:

The system successfully fired an Aster 30 missile from HMS Dauntless at the MOD range in the Hebrides and hit a moving target drone.

"Both my ship's company and the equipment manufacturers have done a sterling job," commented Dauntless' captain, Richard Powell.

 "Better than the Mediterranean" has a certain ring to it, and this is something the Task Force should be shouting about to demonstrate the necessity of the range.

The first person/newspaper to lift this story without attribution, and present it as their own will be named and shamed.  IP addresses are being logged!

Parliamentary questions

Can anyone explain the rationale behind this question to the Minister?  It seems to do nothing but undermine the Range, compared to Wales.....

Hebrides Missile Range

Mr MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many pairs of fibre-optic cables his Department has between Hebrides Range and the mainland of Scotland. [14019]

Peter Luff: The Ministry of Defence has no fibre optic cables running between the Hebrides Range and the mainland of Scotland.

Rocket range - continued

This is not going to go away, and the unequivocal statements from Mr MacSween need verification, simply because of the implications of what he says.

I have spoken to a number of Lewis/Harris Councillors about their recollection of events. These Councillors are not part of the 'inner circle' but they all confirm that they were unaware of the nature of the review until June 2009. One Councillor said that they were vaguely aware of the Uist Councillors mentioning this and that it might have been raised at one informal meeting, but that at no time was the seriousness of the possible outcome of the review mentioned.

All the Councillors were told by the Chief Executive, after the event, that Mr MacSween had been asked to use his Labour Party contacts to get some feedback, as the Council was getting no feedback from the MP or the MOD. It was due to his ability to connect with the political system that Mr MacSween was asked to be on the Task Force.

All the other matters are either undisputed or a personal take on events.

In summary, it appears that Mr MacSween is accurate in his statements and that Mr MacNeil has sought to mislead the public over the timing and nature of his involvement.

It also appears that the failure of Southern Isles Councillors and the leadership of the Comhairle to bring the seriousness of the matter to the attention of the other Councillors, and the delays in chasing information from the various parties also contributed significantly to the overall mad panic as the announcements rolled out.

The failure of our MP or MSP to address any of the substantive issues or even deny them points directly to the accuracy of what he alleges.

My useless politician is better than your useless politican

The claim, reported by Hebrides News, that the Council knew about the plans for reassessing the Range, with the possibility of job losses, is shocking.

Sadly, it is as believable as it is unbelievable, and with a disgraceful inevitability it would appear that culpability for the debacle lies as much with (at least part of) the Council as it does with the MP and MSP.

Although the claim is that all Southern Isles Councillors were notified about the plans at the time poses all sorts of questions But questions must also arise about exactly who in the Council knew about these proposals, what decisions they took, and what did they actually do?

In a seeming desperate dive for the moral low ground, the ferrets are fighting in the sack; and I feel an FoI coming on to separate truth from press release.

It seems undisputed that the Southern Isles Councillors knew and did nothing. Why?

With Councillors basic salaries trebling to £15,000 in May 2007, a certain increased responsibility naturally came with the pay rise, and that means they are going to have to justify their inaction to their communities.

Just what did you do when you were told the news in the Summer of 2007? What exactly were you told (send me a copy of the email/letter, please)? And why did you act surprised when the news became public six months later?

That is what you are going to have to answer on the doorsteps, whether you like it or not.

None of that excuses the failures of MacNeil or Allan, but it puts into context a seeming culture of inability and failure to identify priority issues by our elected representatives.

The Council, meantime, needs to give the public full clarity about its own actions.

And Mr MacSween needs to confirm exactly when he knew about the Qinetiq/MOD plans or he will be tarred with the same brush that he is wielding.

Incompetence, stupidity or laziness?

I have received an email bundle of FoI requests, which I am still working my way through.

The bundle contains some very damning correspondence relating to the Rocket Range, and appears to depict both the MP and MSP as liars.

But, I'll let you be the judge of that.....

In July 2007, Mr MacNeil received a letter from Lord Drayson about the review, which contains the key phrase:

If all these proposals were taken forward there could be a significant impact on the number of jobs at the range. However, I would stress that, at present, these are no more than proposals.

and later:

I am writing in similar terms to the constituency MSP, Alasdair Allan.

Six months later Mr MacNeil sprung into action, at the request of staff who were hearing rumours about the plans, and arranged a visit to the site.

But look at the terms of the memo that resulted from that meeting.

MacNeil was concerned about "stemming the rumour mill", and then made it very clear just how serious an impact any closure of the facility would have.

And then did nothing, as far as we can tell, except - as requested - to be kept informed.

Of course when the solids hit the fan and the Council set up the Task Force there was a sudden burst of press releases
mock-outrage from MP and MSP, who have repeatedly tried to claim their lack of advance knowledge of the situation.

There was a fourth option that I didn't have space for in the headline, and it appears to me to be the real story of these emails.

I believe that the workers in Uist were to be sacrificed by our MP and MSP to score a party political point, and it was only due to the massive, intensive and successful intervention of the Council that this was avoided.

I'll be posting further on this later today, work permitting.

(Link to pdfs now fixed - thank you for pointing this out)

Marketing the Uist rocket range

The Council have apparently received a letter from Quentin Davies, Defence Minister, former Tory MP, and owner of the bell tower that expenses really weren't claimed for, promising that next year will see the launching of a campaign to market the Rocket Range to potential customers.

More significantly, he has asked his officials to assist with planning for diversifying the economy of the islands to reduce the dependence upon the range facility.

The over-dependence - reliance - was of course, something that the late Donnie Stewart MP often warned about.

This move is to be warmly welcomed, and should be supported, but fully in the knowledge that it is a double-edged sword.

If the range - in the words of Mr Davies - is too economically intertwined with the local economy to be closed, then by diversifying and growing the economy then the option for closure returns.

But let's not look a gift horse in the mouth, as long as we can avoid its bite.

Praise where praise is due (updated)

Everyone in the Western Isles needs to read the story in this week's West Highland which utterly, completely and finally put the future of the Rocket Range on the backburner.

The case made by QinetiQ is smoothly and efficiently gutted by the Defence Minister, who seems to have learned more about the QinetiQ operations from the employees and Tax Force than from QinetiQ themselves.

“I was very struck during my many conversations with senior engineers and technicians in the Hebrides by the fact that none of them had had sight of the detailed proposals. I was able to identify from these conversations at least one understated investment expenditure which was acknowledged by QinetiQ management.”

And, of course, from the case built by the Task Force using specialist consultants:

“I think Jane’s [Advisory Services] comments should be taken seriously and the proposal should not go ahead unless we are satisfied with QinetiQ’s response.”

Then Mr Davies beautifully skewers QinetiQ over their failure to consider any problems that might arise in getting planning permission on St Kilda, and a host of other (important) local issues.

The extent and nature of the critique should be enough to keep the Range safe for many years and it is yet another tribute to the Task Force and the workforce for their intense hard work in a short period of time.

We really must appreciate the full depth and extent of the impact that their hard work has had.

Just as well they didn't listen to our MP, talking about the visit by the Minister: “Playing the old trick of lobby me lobby me won’t wash.”


Update 14/11/09: The letters can be read here and here. The quality of the files may be less than perfect.

The mood in Uist

I'm just back from a few days work in Uist, and as usual I spent the time travelling around the islands, speaking to loads of people in every corner.

The talk moves in all sorts of directions and covers all topics - tax, sheep prices, ferries - before inevitably coming back to the one issue that is on everyone's mind: the Rocket Range.

There are three main threads in the conversations that are interlinked and almost without exception they are repeated and reinforced by everyone I speak to.

(1) The Range was only saved thanks to the hard work and determination of the Taskforce. Every member of that Taskforce is receiving credit for their involvement; except possibly HIE who are perceived to have been an obstacle rather than a help. Even the Council gets grudging praise for leading the defence.

(2) The Range is only saved until the next Defence Review, and the defence of the Range must continue to guarantee real security.

(3) Angus MacNeil MP has behaved in an appalling fashion, and has done nothing to help. He won't be getting their vote again, but that doesn't mean that they are going to vote for Labour either.

Labour are still being blamed for the economic mismanagement, but I believe that in Uist there are a huge number of ex-SNP floating voters who are going to decide how to vote much nearer the time.

The approach that a Tory Government will have more reason to save the Range seems bizarre in the extreme, as the Tories will actually have less reason to keep to open and the Taskforce will be likely to have less leverage over a Tory Government than over a Labour one.

The next election campaign started some months back, and it is going to be longer, bitter and very close.

Rocket range saved!

The magnificent effort of the Range Taskforce in successfully managing the campaign to save the Uist rocket range deserves to be recognised and applauded from the rooftops.

The Councillors, officers and other members have worked extremely hard to persuade the Government to retain the vast range of skills in the range, and to reverse the decision of QinetiQ and their owners, the rapacious private equity firm the Carlyle Group.

The effort has been unstinting, and despite the short timescale, the full resources of the Council have been mustered to fight for the islands.

'To fight for the islands": remember that phrase.

Reports have been commissioned, arguments gathered and then expounded in an exemplary fashion, despite HIE refusing to release information to the Council. No other public sector body could have achieved what they have done, and without the local Council, the range would be have been closed by today.

Those close to the Taskforce have praised Vice-Convener Angus Campbell for being the driving force behind the whole rescue mission. He has been described as being a powerhouse of discretion, drive, tact and superb negotiating skills at every level, bringing on board everyone in a magnificent joint effort. He has also had to bite his tongue very often; as some 'supporters' have proved to be less than helpful.

But credit must extend to the other members of the Taskforce, who now must rightly be proud of their achievements; but who also need to realise that the closure issue will come back again, and there needs to be major effort to build up the base and the Uist economy to protect it from such a potentially serious blow ever striking again.

The brickbats lie with everyone involved in the creation of QinetiQ - from its ultra cheap sale privatisation, to those who allowed private greed to become more important than the strategic (inter)national interest.

--

But there is a bigger censure that needs to be applied; and I make no apology whatsoever for returning to the scene of the crime and pointing the finger, not least because many friends and clients are employed - directly or indirectly - by QinetiQ, and the employees do not deserve what has happened to them.

Nearly two years ago our MP was told that closure was proposed. He did nothing. He told no-one. He didn't lobby the Minister, despite meeting her.

The proposed closure was announced. He blamed Labour and issued press releases. Constantly.

He didn't join the Taskforce; preferring to work alone, including setting up a conflicting petition. Conflicting, because the Council signed up to another petition, simply because the official petition was created by someone who actually spoke to the Council.

Never mind. MacNeil put down 14 written questions in the House of Commons relating to the proposed closure. The Taskforce found out about the questions through the media. They were questions the Taskforce wanted asked, but was MacAvity there to help?

He has been absent without apology for all (possibly bar one) of the Taskforce meetings.

He didn't submit a response to the consultation process.

He hasn't met with the Scottish Secretary to discuss the proposed closure, despite repeated requests and offers to do so. [He did gatecrash the first meeting, having not bothered to ask to attend, and pretending to be Angus 'Storas' MacMillan, issuing a press release dismissing the meeting before it had finished!]

As one person said to me, "He wants the Range to close, so he can build his election campaign upon Labour's failures."

The rent-a-quote-stuff might look good in the press, but the staff in Uist know exactly what he has done and what he has not done to fight for the islands.

And his biggest failure is to not engage with the staff, preferring to issue ill-informed statements on their behalf.

I have known about today's announcement since Monday afternoon. Why am I better informed about Westminster decisions than our MP?

Is it because I actually speak to people of all political parties, instead of grandstanding and alienating them? MacNeil's credibility in Westminster is paper thin as he is perceived to be a self-publicist rather than a serious politician.

And that doesn't help us one iota to fight for the islands.

The inclusion of Donald John MacSween in the Taskforce opened many doors that would otherwise have remained closed. Indeed many of these doors were being slammed in the face of the MP, as a direct result of his grandstanding.

Don't forget that his appointment was bitterly opposed by the SNP, in a spectacular piece of misjudgement, but it is clear from sources close to the issue that his political contacts made all the difference to the outcome.

QinetiQ rocket ranges - the submissions

I have been very impressed with the quality of the submissions submitted in support of the Uist range from the Council, the local political parties, and by Highlands and Islands Enterprise.

There are many excellent observations, suggestions for improvements and ideas for taking the range forward, all of which are worthy of deeper consideration.

The HIE submission, however, highlights the restrictions placed on their assessment by the failure of the MOD/QinetiQ to provide the necessary economic information for a proper assessment to be made. That is worrying; and is perhaps an indication of a deliberate attempt to ensure that the full picture is not available to those making the case for retention.

HIE also make the clear point that a proper Green Book economic assessment of the situation needs to be undertaken before any decision is made.

If I understand the process correctly:

• The MOD as the budget holder take a decision on what is to happen
• Then the Cabinet Secretary or Chancellor produces an overall economic assessment/impact study to look at the wider implications
• The final decision is then taken in this context

The economic arguments - unemployment, social upheaval etc clearly fall into the later element and that is the backstop.

The real arguments over loss of testing capacity, reduced accuracy, and control issues with reliance on a single bandwidth are aimed directly at the initial decision.

Whilst it might be entertaining to see Labour and the SNP trying to knock lumps out of each other, they both managed to do so without losing sight of or overshadowing the key issues, which is something to be grateful for.

Sadly, this campaign started a year too late as Angus MacNeil MP sat on the information he received about the proposals until even after the last minute. That has undoubtedly dramatically weakened the Task Force submission and the HIE assessment, and we just hope it does not prove to be a fatal blow.

Has the rocket range been saved?

I'm not sure how to interpret the words from the minister, who seems to be playing his cards very close to his chest.

It is clear that he is now fully aware of the impact that his decision will have on the Western Isles as a whole, and Uist in particular, and full credit must go to the Task Force for the hard work they have done in getting him here.

The lobbying of the Minister - the person responsible for taking the decision - is vitally important, indeed crucial; and should not have been derided by our MP, who seemed to prefer megaphone diplomacy insults and lobbying of those NOT taking the decision. I would go so far as to say that the successes to date are despite our MP's actions.

We may have been roundly patronised by the Minister

...a charming and lovely community in a lovely part of the world which would easily be very badly impacted by a decision of this kind.

but we can forgive him that if he makes the right decision. The balance is - as he says -

When I get back I shall have all kinds of people asking for money and if I said I've just given up a saving of £3.9 million a year because I want to do a favour for these charming people who live on the Western side of the Hebrides there'd be a lot of people who would think I'd betrayed the general national interest. It's not an easy decision to take.

Sorry to remind you of this, but it is your job to take the decisions and the responsibility for them, and your decision will have a major impact on the votes in the coming election.

Hope for Uist

Surprise, surprise, but according to the Gazette the Defence Minister is to visit Uist and to discuss the proposed cuts.

And who is bearer of these good tidings, but the prospective Labour MP, Cllr Donald John MacSween, who also has the very welcome news that socio-economic factors will be taken into account in coming to a final decision on the closure of the Rocket Range.

Good work by the Council-led Range Task Force, presumably on the back of the recent meeting with Ministers in London. And if I read between the lines correctly, an easy exit route for the Government to reverse the decision 'having considered all the facts'.

Obviously Labour consider this a winnable seat, or Mr MacSween wouldn't have got the nod ahead of everyone else - and what looks like the ear of the Minister - on this matter.

What this demonstrates that speaking to the Minister is the key, and then using that to its maximum advantage. That applies whether your are in the governing party or in opposition, and all the more underlines the failure by Angus MacNeil to lobby the junior Minister when he met with her after his advance confidential briefing on the closure plans.

Regardless of political allegiance, everyone should now pull together to persuade the Minister that the socio-economic impacts would be so adverse that there should be no suggestion that the closure go ahead.

Meantime, sign the petition against closure.

MOD - disgraceful and very serious misbehaviour

My earlier post explained what I was told about a meeting in Uist when the MOD briefed the Council and others about the closure/wind-down plans for the range.

That Angus MacNeil MP and Alasdair Allan MSP have had an apology from the MOD for misrepresenting their involvement in the closure plans is not the end of the matter.

Indeed, it doesn't even begin to address the seriousness of the situation.

If an MOD press officer has deliberately misled community leaders (which no-one seems to dispute) about other elected representatives, then that individual should be severely disciplined. It is not a small mistake, nor is it by any stretch of the imagination trivial.

If there has ever been an issue that needs to be raised in Parliament then this is it.

But why did the MOD do this?

• Stupidity or ignorance?
• Deliberate political meddling? (to stitch up Labour or the SNP?)
• To ferment local antagonisms so we ignore the main issue?

I favour option 3, and let's all follow the advice of the public (as shown in the poll on the blog) and get everyone working together against the MOD. And not be divided and conquered.

Not so shock news about the Rocket Range (updated)

As the Councillors sat at the MOD briefing in Benbecula last week and were told the disastrous news about the plans for the facility, another bombshell was dropped.

According to the MOD, some time previously they had given a personal briefing to Messrs MacNeil and Allan about all the options that were facing the range and the probable course of action that was going to be followed.

This had occurred during a half-day visit to Rangehead where they were shown the facilities and told how the place operated.

So the cries of surprise and shock are nothing more than cover for their inaction.

Given a few weeks notice, where was their attempt to muster the forces of opposition with the Council, development agencies, Government Departments, Ministers, Defence Committee members or even the Scottish Government to ride to the rescue?

Instead, inertia replaced action and 125 jobs are lost as a consequence.

And we are supposed to be impressed with a pointless intervention in the Parliament as a substitute for doing their job.

Updated: I understand that the MOD made their claim in front of Cllrs Angus Campbell, Peter Carlin, Donald John MacSween and SNP Group Leader Donald Manford. The later, in particular, has not to my knowledge disputed either the claim or the existence of the advance breifing.

The future for Qinetiq: updated (again)

Repeated stories reach me about the possibility of Qinetiq soon announcing that they are pulling out of Uist.

I sincerely hope that these stories are flatly denied by their owners, The Carlyle Group, who picked the company up for a song when the Labour Government privatised it commercialised it gave away the country's future defense strategies brought in external management in 2001.

It is a key part - other than the Comhairle, indeed the major part - of the Uist economy with over 200 people employed and bringing perhaps £10m into the local economy annually. Without it, outward migration is going to go through the roof and the islands will be in economic meltdown.

There is no way that tourism, economic desigantions or even community ownership of the land will be able to reverse the destruction that such a move would create.

I so hope it has no basis in fact, and if anyone can confirm - one way or the other - then please feel free to do so.

Update:

The MoD will announce the result of studies into the operations of the Hebrides air ranges on Wednesday 17 June. You are invited to a press conference at 1.00pm at Congreve House, West Camp at Balivanich, where MoD staff will explain what changes are proposed for the ranges on Benbecula, South Uist and St Kilda. MOD will also explain why, when and how those changes will be made. An MoD spokesman will be available for interviews.

Oh, Oh, bad news!

(Sorry, the update didn't appear correctly, and I was unable to make the corrections until Tuesday pm.)