The Report
of the Iraq Inquiry
570.
On 4 July,
Mr Browne sent Lord Drayson a note summarising a meeting they
had
earlier
that day to discuss PPVs.296
They agreed
that Lord Drayson would pursue:
•
clear
confirmation from military commanders that there was a requirement
for
a medium
weight armoured patrol vehicle as an alternative to Snatch or
Tracked
Armoured
Vehicles;
•
subject to
that confirmation, a rapid investigation of options to deliver such
a
capability
as an interim solution (around 50‑100 vehicles, although that
would
need to be
refined) whilst work continued on longer term solutions;
and
•
subject to
both points, deploying the vehicles alongside the forces due to
be
deployed to
Iraq in November 2006.
571.
Mr Browne
reported that he had discussed funding with Mr Gordon
Brown,
Chancellor
of the Exchequer, following his meeting with Lord Drayson where it
was
concluded
that the MOD could initially use the UOR contingency of £30m to
fund the
project;
and that additional funds could be sought as required.
572.
On 5 July,
Lord Drayson asked Lt Gen Houghton for clear
confirmation,
“in consultation
with Front Line Commands”, as to whether there was a
requirement
for a
medium weight armoured patrol vehicle “as an alternative to use of
Snatch or
Tracked
Armoured Vehicles on current operations”.297
573.
Lt Gen Houghton
provided that confirmation on 7 July, stating:
“I am clear
that, in light of the increasingly sophisticated and potent
asymmetric
threat that
we now face, a requirement for a medium weight PPV, in addition
to
the current
and planned enhancements to light weight PPV and tracked
armoured
vehicles
exists …
“We need a
medium weight PPV … to provide a significantly enhanced
physical
protection
against EFP IEDs and RPGs … to prosecute our missions
successfully
without
unnecessary casualties. Only a balanced force will give the
operational
commander
the optimum flexibility to meet the range of tasks based on
an
assessment
of threat and risk. The Frontline Commands share this
assessment.”298
574.
Lt Gen Houghton
added that, as Lord Drayson was aware, physical protection
was
“only part
of a balanced systems approach to delivering a Force Protection
capability”;
and that
improvements to the ISTAR capability were “a key element in
achieving the
overall
protection that we need”.
296
Minute
APS/SofS [MOD] to PS/Minister(DP), 4 July 2006, ‘Protected Patrol
Vehicles (PPV)’.
297
Minute
APS/Minister(DP) to MA/CJO, 5 July 2006, ‘Protected Patrol Vehicles
(PPV)’.
298
Minute CJO
to PS/Min(DP), 7 July 2006, ‘Protected Patrol Vehicle
(PPV)’.
94