Ajax-Programmchef nach Sicherheitsmängeln entlassen

The full Parliamentary Written Statement is below, but some key quotes are

>Separately I commissioned a Ministerial review to examine the quality of advice that Ministers, senior officials and military leadership across the MoD received. This determined that departmental submissions were accurate in declaring Ajax as safe to operate. However, it also found Ministers should have been briefed more comprehensively in relation to operational impact and the nuanced risks of operating safely. Importantly, submissions did not reflect the full breadth of known aggregated safety risk, particularly regarding vibration related injuries and historical programme issues.

>To say that I am angry about the findings of the Ministerial review is an understatement. It demonstrates that people were raising issues with this programme, but they were not being elevated to an appropriate level.

[…]

>In this case, inaccurate information directly contributed to the decision to declare initial operating capability for Ajax. This is unacceptable, and today I have written formally to the wider Department to explain how I expect people to be accurate, innovative and challenge unnecessary process and bureaucracy, whilst maintaining our peoples’ safety. I have asked the Permanent Secretary to follow up on the key themes of this report.

[…]

>This House will understand I will not comment on individual HR matters, but I can update the House that the Senior Responsible Owner of the Ajax programme is no longer in that role. An interim Senior Responsible Owner has been appointed by the Army, and I have passed oversight of this programme to the National Armaments Director, who will update me regularly.

[…]

>I have taken the decision today to pause the declaration of Initial Operating Capability for this programme. Until we can confirm resolution of the concerns following the recent Titan Storm training exercise, we cannot declare that it meets the minimum requirement for use under the Initial Operating Capability model.

https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2026-01-22/hcws1269

We should switch to the CV90, a now very well proven vehicle.

The deal itself was flagged years ago as a major issue, let alone the quality of the vehicles. The whole deal should face an inquiry as to how it went so badly wrong.