Des Browne - I give very little time to Scotland job

Des Browne the Defence Secretary has admitted that he hardly gives any time to his Scottish Secretary job and claims he spends most of his time on defence matters (he is joint Defence and Scottish Secretary).

Browne has admitted he carries out his duties as Secretary of State for Scotland in his spare time as he attempts to fight claims he is a "part-time" Defence Secretary. His dual mandate at the Ministry of Defence and the Scotland Office has sparked anger from former military chiefs and opposition MPs, who say he needs to devote his entire time to defence matters.

But Mr Browne yesterday insisted the armed forces should not feel insulted by his juggling act, as he spent the same amount of time on defence as he did before he was landed with the Scotland Office portfolio in June.

His admission came after the Tory leader, David Cameron, called on Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister, to appoint a full-time defence secretary on the back of a row sparked by five former military chiefs. Although Mr Browne was in Glasgow yesterday attending a conference on regenerating the city, he made clear that defence took up most of his diary.

"I would put my record on commitment and delivery up against anyone's," he said. "The amount of time that [the job of Scottish Secretary] takes comes out of what was my private life, my family's life and my constituents' time."

Mr Browne added: "I devote as much time to being Secretary of State for Defence as I did in the time that I was not Secretary of State for Scotland. "I have been with more regularity into the operational theatres than any secretary of defence ever has been, and when I go out and talk to troops they don't raise these abstract issues about what other title you may have. They look to see what I do. And if you have some criticism about a part of the job I should have been doing and I'm not doing, I will answer it."

The Conservatives were quick to blame the dual mandate on the Prime Minister. Mr Browne was already Defence Secretary when the Prime Minister added the Scotland portfolio to his workload nearly six months ago.

In a letter to Mr Brown, Mr Cameron said: "At a time when our forces are engaged in two highly dangerous missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, the need for the Defence Secretary to be able to concentrate full-time on his role is surely a matter of plain commonsense.

"People do not understand why you have chosen to combine the job of Defence Secretary with Scottish secretary at such a crucial time."

Liam Fox, the shadow defence secretary, said Mr Browne was "having to spend time fighting the SNP and the Taleban", calling this "an insult to the men and women of our armed forces".

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What utter contempt for Scotland. We don't need Des Browne, we don't need a Scottish Secretary or a Scottish Office, what we do need is independence, soon.