The Ministry of Defence paid consultants over £1.1m for their part in the sale of the UK's Harrier jump jet fleet to the United States, it has been revealed.Defence Equipment, Support and Technology minister Peter Luff revealed the figure in the House of Commons following a question from Madeleine Moon MP.
The US paid around £110m for 72 Harriers, meaning that consultants netted around 1 per cent of the final value of the deal. The payments are understood to be part of a wider consultancy deal with Alix Partners, which drew criticism last year when it was revealed that their consultants were being paid around £3,950 a day for their work as savings consultants.Luff said that the MoD paid no other external bodies during the trade deal, which was announced in late November 2011."
No external legal or currency brokerage costs were incurred by the Ministry of Defence for the retirement of the Harrier fleet or for the sale to the US Government," said Luff. "The external consultancy costs for these two activities were £0.7m and £0.4m respectively. We do not expect to incur any further costs relating to the retirement and sale to the US Government of the Harrier fleet."
The value of the sale is $180m (around £110m). This figure includes 72 Harrier airframes, spares and associated support equipment. The MoD will receive monetary payment from the US government for the full value of the Harrier sale before 1 April 2012. Overall £1bn will be saved from removing the Harrier from service."Luff said that the money from the sale would be retained by the Ministry of Defence so that it could be reinvested in "key priorities".Shadow Defence Secretary Jim Murphy said the £1.1m cost was "extraordinary".
"Ministers must explain why others are profiting from decisions which have seen thousands made redundant and Britain left without an aircraft carrier with aircraft for a decade. Surely this money could be better spent to help preserve jobs or important capabilities," he said."
It's plain wrong for a consultant to be paid more in a week than many of our soldiers receive in a year. David Cameron and his Ministers are losing all credibility on defence."Madeleine Moon told The London Evening Standard she was "appalled" at the consultancy bill for the sale.
