‘UK choppers can’t fly when there are clouds’

Britain spent £259 million on a fleet of unusable military helicopters that can’t fly through clouds, a public spending watchdog has revealed.

Eight advanced Chinooks designed to carry troops and equipment in all conditions were grounded in the ‘‘massively botched’’ deal. Edward Leigh, chairman of Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee, said: ‘‘Thanks to a massively botched job, they cannot be flown when there is a cloud in the sky.’’ He described the deal as ‘‘one of the worst procurement disasters ever’’.

The Chinooks need upgrades to their navigation systems which will cost an estimated £127 million and will keep them out of service until 2007. The MoD acknowledged the criticism and said it had ‘‘conducted a number of internal activities to learn lessons for the future’’.