Post by rick on Aug 19, 2014 21:31:49 GMT
Mirror Politics @mirrorpolitics 10m
Army chiefs tell holidaying David Cameron to get back to No10 as Iraq crisis worsens
While the Prime Minister posed with wife Samantha at a beach cafe in Polzeath, Cornwall, General Sir Richard Dannatt said Parliament should be recalled
Senior military figures have opened fire on David Cameron’s lack of leadership over Iraq – as he swanned off on yet another holiday.
The Prime Minister was pictured basking in the Cornish sunshine on his third break of the year and his 15th holiday since entering No10.
While he posed with his wife Samantha at a beach cafe in Polzeath, Cornwall, General Sir Richard Dannatt, former head of the Army, said Parliament should be recalled.
“I think there will come a point when Parliament needs to come back together, people need to have a full debate about it. I think the nation would expect that,” he said.
And he said it had been “unwise” for the Government to publicly rule out British “boots on the ground”.
In a separate intervention, ex Royal Navy chief, Lord West of Spithead, said: “We need to be very certain of our ultimate aim and we don’t seem to have great clarity of vision about what we are going to do there. It is very worrying.
“There is always a danger of mission creep. We need to be very clear on our game plan - what, at the end, is going to make our nation and the globe more secure.”
The calls came as fighting in Iraq intensified with Kurdish forces locked in a battle with Islamic State militants over the city of Tikrit north of Baghdad.
By contrast, Mr Cameron appeared untroubled by the fast-moving situation as he relaxed over a coffee at the Surfside Cafe in the north Cornwall resort.
The break comes just six days after he returned from a 10-day holiday in Portugal.
Mr Cameron has insisted he remains in control during the holiday and is “always within a few feet of a BlackBerry”.
But last year he admitted it was not always possible to get reception in Cornwall.
He said: “As I go down a hill into Polzeath, I know exactly which bit of the road I lose my signal. So it is a problem. It can be very frustrating.”
Lord West also hit out at the Coalition for making such deep defence cuts: “It is ironic that having had large cuts in defence spending over the past four years, and the distinct possibility of even more to come, that David Cameron is relying on the Armed Forces yet again.”
Britain has deployed Chinook helicopters, Tornado fighters and special forces to the region to help the humanitarian effort.
www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/army-chiefs-tell-holidaying-david-4076198?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed
Army chiefs tell holidaying David Cameron to get back to No10 as Iraq crisis worsens
While the Prime Minister posed with wife Samantha at a beach cafe in Polzeath, Cornwall, General Sir Richard Dannatt said Parliament should be recalled
Senior military figures have opened fire on David Cameron’s lack of leadership over Iraq – as he swanned off on yet another holiday.
The Prime Minister was pictured basking in the Cornish sunshine on his third break of the year and his 15th holiday since entering No10.
While he posed with his wife Samantha at a beach cafe in Polzeath, Cornwall, General Sir Richard Dannatt, former head of the Army, said Parliament should be recalled.
“I think there will come a point when Parliament needs to come back together, people need to have a full debate about it. I think the nation would expect that,” he said.
And he said it had been “unwise” for the Government to publicly rule out British “boots on the ground”.
In a separate intervention, ex Royal Navy chief, Lord West of Spithead, said: “We need to be very certain of our ultimate aim and we don’t seem to have great clarity of vision about what we are going to do there. It is very worrying.
“There is always a danger of mission creep. We need to be very clear on our game plan - what, at the end, is going to make our nation and the globe more secure.”
The calls came as fighting in Iraq intensified with Kurdish forces locked in a battle with Islamic State militants over the city of Tikrit north of Baghdad.
By contrast, Mr Cameron appeared untroubled by the fast-moving situation as he relaxed over a coffee at the Surfside Cafe in the north Cornwall resort.
The break comes just six days after he returned from a 10-day holiday in Portugal.
Mr Cameron has insisted he remains in control during the holiday and is “always within a few feet of a BlackBerry”.
But last year he admitted it was not always possible to get reception in Cornwall.
He said: “As I go down a hill into Polzeath, I know exactly which bit of the road I lose my signal. So it is a problem. It can be very frustrating.”
Lord West also hit out at the Coalition for making such deep defence cuts: “It is ironic that having had large cuts in defence spending over the past four years, and the distinct possibility of even more to come, that David Cameron is relying on the Armed Forces yet again.”
Britain has deployed Chinook helicopters, Tornado fighters and special forces to the region to help the humanitarian effort.
www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/army-chiefs-tell-holidaying-david-4076198?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed