General Dannatt denies that he’s been in cahoots with the Tories. He gave a lecture last night and said:
“[David Cameron] put it to me that he was concerned that his defence team – at a time when defence was really important, and Afghanistan was really critical – lacked expert understanding.
“And would I be prepared to advise his team, and, if the Conservatives win the election, would I be prepared to take a peerage and maybe join his ministerial team… it was a recent decision and indicates that there was no long-term plot.”
Only a bolus of ministers, who believed they could smear a General who was renowned for his frugality over expenses, could be preposterous enough to suggest that Dannatt was a Tory mole all along. And I welcome David Cameron’s acknowledgement that he requires expert advice on Afghanistan.
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