Armoured vehicles and the UK Prince- Andrew : MoD is Clueless to buy the Armoured vehicles for troops in Afganistan

Armoured vehicles and the UK, Prince Andrew has described the Ministry of Defence as "hopeless" for not ordering better armoured vehicles.Speaking at the factory which manufactures the British-built Rangers - which resist blasts up to three times more effectively than vehicles currently in operation - he said defence chiefs were sitting on their "fat backsides" in stalling their introduction.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has asked for independent tests to establish the vehicles' resistance to the kind of roadside bombs used by the Taliban in Afghanistan, but has said it has no plans to order the Rangers as things stand.

The Duke of York, a former Royal Navy helicopter pilot and colonel-in-chief of five Army regiments who has visited Afghanistan regularly, was sceptical.In comments overheard by a journalist, he said: "Why do they have to do blast tests?It's just increasing the cost ,It just seems that because it takes time to get these things done - I would say to you that regrettably they will not get off their fat backsides.

Protocol dictates members of the Royal family should avoid expressing political views.But Commander John Muxworthy, from the UK National Defence Association - which campaigns for better defence funding - said the Duke was wrong to focus on the MoD and the Armoured Vehicles.

He said: "Most of the time it's government interference, changing of dates and changes of mind that are to blame for wasting money and delaying things."

An MoD spokesman said: "We have looked into the Ranger vehicle but it does not meet any of our current requirements."

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