What is MoD up to?
According to reports in the Daily Telegraph, the Ministry of Defence made arrangements whereby $500,000 of British taxpayers' money has been paid to a Washington-based lobbyist over the past four years.
A little odd?
Reports suggest that is was done to influence "trade and procurement".
Trade, you say? Does that mean MoD was hoping to see stuff bought or sold?
If MoD arranged for a lobbyist to be retained to make it possible to buy stuff, the obvious question is what is it that the 500 or so staff in our Washington Embassy do all day that made MoD feel they have to retain a lobby company to open doors for them?
If, alternatively, MoD made these arrangement with a lobbyist in order to sell kit to the US, then on whose behalf were they doing so?
Either way, this raises questions that deserve an answer.