The Ministry of Defence has been accused of ‘driving taxpayers across the bend’ after blowing hundreds of thousands of kilos on taxis and chauffeurs.
Figures uncovered by MailOnline have revealed Britain’s cash-strapped army has spent £2,095,730.19 on automobiles to shuttle troops and civil servants round.
The splurge on cabs was spent in the course of the 2023/24 monetary yr and has been branded a ‘pointless waste’ of money by campaigners.
Information of the MoD’s journey invoice comes as army chiefs proceed to strive plug a staggering £29billion monetary black gap in defence spending.
In the meantime the British Military is about to shrink to its smallest dimension in 230 years, with troop numbers quickly predicted to dip under 70,000 for the primary time since 1793.
The money spent on taxis may have paid the annual salaries of 83 Privates within the British Military, who earn £25,200.
The MoD spent greater than £2million on taxis and chauffeurs, figures present (inventory picture)
The quantity spent on transport may have paid the annual salaries of greater than 80 troopers with the rank of Non-public (file image of British Military troops on train in Salisbury)
The information comes after Labour warned the variety of troops within the military may dip under 70,000 for the primary time in 230 years (file picture of Prime Minister Kier Starmer with troops at Salisbury in August 2022)
Colonel Philip Ingram has warned the UK is going through a ‘1938 second’ and should correctly put money into its army
Colonel Philip Ingram, a former British intelligence officer, blasted the spending, telling MailOnline: ‘Nearly all actions throughout defence aren’t delivered in a value efficient means, losing taxpayers’ cash as there may be zero accountability for wasteful practices. This should be addressed.
‘The strategy is to not lower the scale of our army however to usher in accountability and maintain individuals personally chargeable for wasteful selections and practices. Defence may save billions by doing this.’
He added: ‘Reducing the scale of any arm of the army would ship the flawed message to our potential enemies at a time of rising instability and would ship an incredibly unhealthy message to our allies who’re rising their defence spending and dimension of their army’s given the rising worldwide tensions.
‘We’re in a 1938 second – it is not peace in our time – we should be rising our army functionality quickly.’
The most recent info was revealed in a freedom of data (FoI) request by MailOnline.
The cash was spent as a part of the MoD’s Phoenix II automobile contract.
In its FoI response to MailOnline, the MoD stated that ‘as a big organisation with distant websites throughout the UK and bases world wide, our workers have to journey to areas that aren’t all the time accessible by public transport’.
It added: ‘All journey bookings by MoD civil servants and army personnel should be confirmed as important and authorised by a supervisor to make sure the request is legitimate and represents worth for cash.’
It is understood that a few of the workers working as chauffeurs are ex-military personnel who’re extremely skilled. They supply transport for ministers and high-ranking officers.
The quantity spent on taxi and chauffeur journeys was revealed in a freedom of data request by MailOnline (file picture of the MoD’s signal at its base in Whitehall, London)
Whereas taxi journeys can cowl extra routine transport for troopers going between bases, ought to different automobiles be unavailable.
A earlier research revealed that in 2022, the MoD had spent £16.6million on rent automobiles for employees, up from £12.9million the yr earlier than.
Reacting to the latest splurge on taxis and chauffeurs, William Yarwood, media marketing campaign supervisor on the TaxPayers’ Alliance informed MailOnline: ‘Taxpayers can be pushed around the bend by this pointless waste.
‘Whereas the MoD complains about huge funding gaps and makes an attempt to plug its varied monetary black holes, it’s essential that they make each penny rely.
‘As an alternative of hitching a experience, MoD bosses ought to declare a battle on waste.’
Tory shadow Armed Forces Minister Mark Francois stated: ‘Provided that Labour persistently refuse to call a date by which they may spend 2.5 per cent of GDP on our Defence, each pound the MoD spends actually issues – together with taxi fares. A pound spent on that could be a pound we can not spend on ammunition or different key necessities.’
An MoD spokesman informed MailOnline: ‘Because the Chancellor has stated, the Authorities has inherited public funds that are a lot worse than anticipated.
‘This Authorities is dedicated to securing worth for cash for taxpayers, cracking down on waste, and getting a grip of MoD budgets, together with via elevated scrutiny on spending.
‘That’s why now we have taken speedy motion to cease all non-essential authorities consultancy spending in 24/25.’
