Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, having handed over his responsibilities last week after four years as chief of the Defence Staff (CDS), began his new life with a speech at the Institute for Government. His 20-minute address was no bland reminiscence: the former professional head of Britain’s armed forces had a great deal to get off his chest.

He was positive about much that had happened over the past four years. The UK had led the way in supporting Ukraine, Nato had become larger and stronger and the ‘Coalition of the Willing’ had shown that European nations could act quickly and effectively. The Defence Industrial Strategy and changes within the Ministry of Defence were improving procurement and the problems with recruitment and retention in the armed forces were being addressed and gradually lessening.

There is a chronic lack of accountability in the Ministry of Defence

However, Radakin was sharply critical in one area, which was the decision-making system within the Ministry of Defence (MoD) itself:

There is a focus on process over outcome. We struggle to take long-term decisions. We lack real accountability. We fail to take risk. And we would rather waste money than risk money.

These criticisms will........

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