MoD accounts cleared
Ministry of Defence accounts have been cleared for the first time since resource accounting for government was introduced in 1999, writes our parliamentary correspondent.
Link:MoD accounts qualified for sixth straight year
Sir John Bourn, the head of the National Audit Office, reported to parliament that the accounts for 2003/04 represented ‘a true and fair view’ and described it as ‘a significant achievement’.
He also reported that the net total cost of the Iraq war and subsequent operations to 31 March this year was £2.2bn.
But a damning report released today by the Commons public accounts committee claimed that ‘the slippage of £3bn… denied new equipment to servicemen and women at the front line’.