Hoon hits back over 'soldiers put at risk'

Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon was today embroiled in a vitriolic row with MPs over the Ministry of Defence's procurement policy.

Mr Hoon hit back at claims that British troops had been put in danger because of " woeful" delays to deliveries of frontline equipment.

A report by the Commons defence committee said "endemic and systemic" failings by the MoD's Defence Procurement Agency had wasted billions of taxpayers' money.

The committee also questioned the MoD's claim that its smart acquisition programme had saved ?2 billion.

But the MoD hit back today with defence procurement minister Lord Bach saying the report was "misguided, disappointing and flawed". He said many of the claims in the report, published in July, were " unsubstantiated and drawn from "selective" use of evidence.