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British defence bosses have launched an extraordinary attack on government dithering over military spending, saying bureaucratic bungling and delays mean the UK is now the industry's 'worst customer'.
Rob Taylor, head of virtual reality military and police training firm 4GD, told The Mail on Sunday the glacial approach to new orders by the Ministry of Defence had left many firms prioritising selling their wares abroad and even looking to exit Britain to set up shop elsewhere.
'I've had one British defence boss tell me they don't sell to the MoD by choice because they lose so much money,' he said.
'We call it the 'bureaucracy tax' – the cost and value of a contract is not what you get at the end because of delays and obfuscation. So you can end up losing all your profit because of the systemic problems in Government.
'Loads of companies, especially ones making drones, now prioritise selling to Ukraine. The UK is currently the worst customer we do business with.'
Slammed: UK defence bosses have blasted the MoD
Taylor, a former Royal Marine, added: 'I'm not blaming the end user. It is the layers of bureaucracy between them and businesses like mine.
In the US, we can get paid before we even leave an army base where we've done a project. In the UK, we can be waiting as long as two years.'
As a result of the growing frustration, Taylor said his firm was 'actively looking' to move operations to the US.
He also highlighted a lack of clarity on what was classed as a 'UK defence company' when the MoD selected firms for contracts.
'Would Lockheed Martin's British arm be classed as a UK firm?' he asked of the US defence giant.
'Or is it just companies like mine that are based here? When people like Andy Burnham say well-meaning things like, 'We're going to buy more British stuff' they need to clarify what exactly they mean by that.'
Another industry insider told the MoS the slow pace of Government orders, combined with rising costs, was creating a 'perfect storm' for the sector.
'The vacuum in defence contracting over the past year has created a ruinously expensive pause for industry,' they said.
'UK businesses are moving to places like the US, Germany and France, where they have been welcomed with open arms, offered incentives and have the demand signal to invest.'
The broadside comes ahead of the Farnborough Airshow later this month, a key date in the defence sector calendar where firms gather to show off their new wares.
It also follows fierce criticism of the Government's Defence Investment Plan, published last month, which, despite promising to lift defence spending to 3 per cent of gross domestic product by 2030, has been dubbed too little by figures including John Healey, who resigned as defence secretary.
An MoD spokesman said: 'British defence firms are the backbone of British industry. Eighty five per cent of defence spending currently stays in the UK, but we want to go further.
'We have launched a new approach to procurement with faster routes, less bureaucracy and more opportunities for small and medium enterprises.'
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