'War footing' and a tight defence budget don't go hand in hand

Watching people trying to pour a quart of beer into a pint pot is an amusing way to spend an afternoon at a village fete in high summer.

- Bernard Gray

It can't be done, but it's fun watching the contestants try. The same spectacle attempted in a dreary wet Whitehall in October is an altogether more painful sight. In effect, that is what is being asked of Rupert Pearce in becoming the new UK national armaments director (Nad). To encourage him to take on the task of reforming defence procurement in the full glare of the public spotlight, he will be paid a salary of "up to" £400,000 a year. Whether it will keep him warm at night as the cold reality of the position sets in remains to be seen.

While there is plenty of complexity in the issues and politics of the job, the basic problem is there in the quarts and pints. Two into one just won't go.