Liar Liar

Gen Dannatt:`I asked you for more troops`. Gonzo: " Oh no you didn't, and I even told Bob "Bollox" Ainsworth* to ask what was needed". (and we know what he was told) Well who do you believe? *....and in case some of our allies don't know who our Minister of Defence is...well this is who he was, courtesy of a cut and paste from WikiP. Don't worry about the bit about possibly joining the International Marxists - he didn't inhale. I particularly like his quote, in bold italics, below. Fills me with shock and awe: He first became active in politics as a trade unionist at the Jaguar Cars plant in Coventry^[1] where he worked and served in many union capacities, including as Branch President (in what was later to become part of the Manufacturing, Science and Finance union). At this time he attended "a couple" of International Marxist Group meetings before deciding not to pursue an interest in the group.^[2] In 1984, he was elected to Coventry City Council, became Chair of the Finance Committee,^[3] and was deputy leader of the ruling Labour group. He was also Constituency Labour Party Chairman.^[4]

On 5 June 2009, he was appointed to the cabinet by Gordon Brown as Secretary of State for Defence,^[6] in what was considered by some to be "a surprise choice".^[7][8] As Defence Secretary, Ainsworth declared in July 2009 that "the government should have offered more support to British troops at the beginning of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq,"^[9] a comment that provoked former Chief of Defence Staff General Lord Guthrie to accuse Ainsworth of not understanding "leadership in war".^[10] At the Labour Party Conference in Brighton in 2009, Ainsworth stated that sending reinforcements to Afghanistan may not be possible because of a lack of necessary military resources. He said, "Before I agree to any increase in troop numbers I must be sure that the balance of risk is acceptable by evaluating the capacity of the supply chain to properly equip the increased force."

Well, to paraphrase the old saying; `you can take the shop steward out of the car factory.......`