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| MoD rows back on '£22 for 65p light bulb' denial | |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| The Ministry of Defence (MoD) now says it is investigating newspaper claims that it paid £22.51 for light bulbs that can be bought for 65p elsewhere. | |
| The MoD at first insisted the bulbs were highly specialised parts for a radar system, but later said the thrust of the Sun's story was correct. | |
| It said it was "not denying" the claims after more information came to light. | |
| The Sun had published an invoice which it said it was shown by a soldier who works in the stores of a UK base. | |
| The soldier, whom the Sun did not name, href="http://http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/campaigns/our_boys/3445710/Ministry-of-Defence-pay-22-for-65p-lightbulb.html" >told the paper he could not ignore the "criminal" waste he saw every day. | |
| He was quoted as saying: "You're talking about a fortune for these bulbs. If I order 100, that's over £2,000. But you can pick them up for 65p each, the exact same ones. | He was quoted as saying: "You're talking about a fortune for these bulbs. If I order 100, that's over £2,000. But you can pick them up for 65p each, the exact same ones. |
| 'Inexcusable' | |
| "There must be thousands of light bulbs across the MoD. If people paid attention to simple things like this, they could save a lot of money - and maybe jobs." | "There must be thousands of light bulbs across the MoD. If people paid attention to simple things like this, they could save a lot of money - and maybe jobs." |
| Defence chiefs were also said to have paid £103 a time for screws, believed to be on sale online for £2.60. | |
| In the paper, the soldier said specialist contractors sourced items for the military and added their costs on to the price, but large savings could be made by buying in bulk. | In the paper, the soldier said specialist contractors sourced items for the military and added their costs on to the price, but large savings could be made by buying in bulk. |
| Reacting to the story earlier, Defence Secretary Liam Fox had described it as "inexcusable" and evidence of a waste of taxpayers' money by the previous Labour government. | Reacting to the story earlier, Defence Secretary Liam Fox had described it as "inexcusable" and evidence of a waste of taxpayers' money by the previous Labour government. |
| Dr Fox told the paper: "We are already tackling the procurement problems we inherited head-on. When money is tight and we need to protect the front line, waste is inexcusable. | Dr Fox told the paper: "We are already tackling the procurement problems we inherited head-on. When money is tight and we need to protect the front line, waste is inexcusable. |
| "This is classic evidence of how Labour wasted taxpayers' money and shows a complete lack of common sense. No wonder the last government left the MoD with a budget deficit of £38bn." | "This is classic evidence of how Labour wasted taxpayers' money and shows a complete lack of common sense. No wonder the last government left the MoD with a budget deficit of £38bn." |
| An MoD spokeswoman had earlier said of the bulb: "It was a lamp filament for the Watchman radar. The MoD uses about five per year." | |
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