Author of scathing report on MoD finances appointed to procurement role

The author of a recent report which was scathing about the way the MoD wasted money has been appointed to a top government procurement job. Bernard Gray has been appointed as the MoD's chief of defence materiel. His responsibility includes MoD assets worth £104bn and an annual operating budget of £13bn. The department is under pressure to address a £38bn black hole in its budget, and the appointment signifies the coalition government's determnination to root out waste and bureaucracy in the way the MoD orders weapons systems. Gray will take up his four-year appointment on 4 January 2011. Defence secretary Liam Fox said Bernard Gray was without question the best man for a "hugely demanding post". He will replace Sir Kevin O'Donoghue.