St Athan – an insider’s view of what went wrong and what could go wrong again.

‘Endemic failures’; a ‘hierarchy’ which ‘doesn’t easily allow a mechanism of change’; ‘programmes that are lasting decades.’ Strong words of criticism directed at the Ministry of Defence by someone who was closely involved in the cancelled plan to build a £14bn training academy at St Athan in the Vale of Glamorgan. But why does someone [...]

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Brigadier Bryant fears for army in Wales

Rhondda MP Chris Bryant has raised his concerns about the future of the army’s presence here in Wales including the possible closure of its Brecon HQ. Mr Bryant claims talks have been taking place which could lead to the full merger of the Welsh brigade which already comes under the responsibility of the West Midlands [...]

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Attack and defence: Welsh Labour MPs on manoeuvres

It was more about attack than defence when Swansea East MP Sian James led a debate in the House of Commons today focussing on the future of defence training in St. Athan in the Vale of Glamorgan. Since the £14bn scheme to set up a training academy for all three forces at the former RAF base was scrapped [...]

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Treasury Leak Freezes out Wales Office

Sources at the very highest level are blaming a Treasury leak for freezing out the inhabitants of the Whitehall base of the Wales Office. We’re talking literally here. The heating system at Whitehall is, apparently, interlinked and a leak at the Treasury has caused the boiler in Gwydyr House to malfunction just as temperatures plummet. Incidentally, [...]

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