Minister denies Army chief 'smear plot'
Junior defence minister Kevan Jones denied claims that he was leading a plot to smear outgoing head of the Army General Sir Richard Dannatt.
Newspaper reports claimed Labour MPs were being led by a minister in a bid to expose how much the chief of the general staff had spent on entertaining guests at his official residence in Kensington Palace.
Internet gossip sites suggested veterans minister Mr Jones was behind the plot, but last night he issued a statement saying: "It is obviously the 'silly season' in the blogosphere.
"Gen Dannatt and I have worked very closely on a number of personnel-related issues, because we both care deeply about servicemen and women.
"I look forward to continuing my working relationship with Gen Dannatt, both now as chief of the general staff and beyond into his retirement."
A Ministry of Defence (MoD) spokesman added: "MoD ministers are not involved in a plot to smear Gen Dannatt.
"Any suggestion that they are is nonsense. At such an important time for the mission in Afghanistan, everyone at the top of the MOD is focused on the task in hand."
Gen Dannatt, 58, is due to leave his post later this month and has been outspoken in recent weeks about the need for more equipment to tackle the home-made bombs which have proved deadly in Afghanistan.
He also drew up a "shopping list" of requirements for troops in the field which was presented to Gordon Brown.
And he has been unrepentant about his high-profile interventions amid allegations that he has been "politicised", saying this week: "Too right I am waging some kind of campaign.
"I am waging some kind of campaign within the Ministry of Defence and within government to make sure that our people on the frontline carrying out difficult and dangerous operations on behalf of the nation have got the right level of manpower and have got the right amount of equipment."
Reports suggested Freedom of Information (FoI) requests had been submitted on behalf of Labour MPs to find out how much public money had been spent entertaining guests at Gen Dannatt's residence, in an attempt to tarnish the Military Cross winner's reputation ahead of his retirement.
The MoD denied this was the case.
Mr Jones, the MP for Durham North, was appointed to the MoD in October 2008 - his first ministerial job.
He was first elected in 2001, having served for 11 years on Newcastle City Council.
