By going public with criticism, ex- UK army chief lost Brown Government’s trust

LONDON - Former British Army chief General Sir Richard Dannatt did not always have a good relationship” with former Prime Minister Gordon Brown because he had a habit of embarrassing the government and the army hierarchy with his public disclosures.

According to former Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth, General Dannatt spent three years as the chief of general staff, and he spent most of this time going public with his criticism of the government, and thus damaged trust and the ability to work as a team.

“If you shared something with him I knew it was likely to be in the Daily Telegraph and you had to take that into account,” Ainsworth said.

General Dannatt, who is now a Tory defence advisor, should have accepted that in a democratic country, “decisions are taken by politicians”.

Ainsworth also criticized officials of the defence ministry for showing “reluctance” to get “whole-heartedly” behind the Afghanistan operation. (ANI)