Ex-army chief General Sir Richard Dannatt to advise Tories on defence

[oldironside]

David Cameron will tomorrow announce that ex-army chief General Sir Richard Dannatt is to become an adviser to the party on defence.

It is understood that the Tory leader will award Dannatt a peerage in order for him to take up the role.

Sources said Cameron had been impressed by Dannatt's "formidable" record and experience.

But the announcement was almost immediately undermined by an embarrassing frontbench gaffe when Chris Grayling, the shadow home secretary, appeared to mistakenly believe Dannatt was to advise the Labour government, rather than Cameron.

Asked about Dannatt's appointment, Grayling replied: "I hope that this isn't a political gimmick. We've seen too many appointments from this government of external people where it has all been about Gordon Brown's PR.

"General Dannatt is an experienced figure and should rightly be working alongside government but I'm always suspicious of this government's motives when it does things like this."

Gordon Brown invited several figures from outside politics to become ministers in his "government of all the talents" when he became prime minister in 2007.

Grayling later brushed off his blunder, telling the BBC he had misheard the question. He added: "I wish I had known before as I would have given him a much more enthusiastic welcome."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/oct/07/sir-richard-dannatt-tories?commentpage=1

(a) Grayling is a wanker
(b) this is redolent of 19th century politics, when the Duke of Wellington became PM. What price democracy?

[non sociopath skin]

1. Speaks volumes about our "apolitical" armed forces, eh?

The Skin

[oldironside]

2. "Being apolitical...

... is where you expect someone else to be right wing on your behalf." Jeremy Harding.