Sending celebrities to Afghanistan costs taxpayer a fortune

Over the past year the Ministry of Defence spend over 400.000 pounds to send celebrities to Afghanistan. Celebrities such a Cheryl Cole were send over to entertain the troops and keep the spirits high. The MoD ( Ministry of Defence ) defends these high costs by explaining that besides the entertainment the visitations also cause the soldiers to relax which improves their combat effectiveness.

Currently it is unknown if the celebrities were actually paid for their visitation, which might explain the bill presented to the general public. However, MoD does not wishes to release any information regarding whether or not the stars got paid for their involvement. Defence Secretary Hammond did let us know that the transportation and accommodation of the stars was done ‘’ at minimal extra cost to the public purse ‘’

My opinion

While I do think entertainment and relaxation for troops is necessary, one has to wonder why it this had to cost more than 400.000 pounds of taxpayer’s money. Because there are no official figures how the 400.000 was spend, we can only speculate on what it was spend on. Sure, the celebrities need protection while they are out in Afghanistan but I cannot imagine this making up the majority of the 400k. I guess it was probably spend on luxury accommodation of the stars, or as many people think, salary for the stars.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-16691207

Worth it ? I suppose...