Problems with AWE finances

THE UK spending watchdog has raised serious concerns about the Ministry of

Defence’s (MoD) finances after auditors found it was “unable” to
explain billions of pounds of expenditure listed as going towards nuclear
weapons programmes. As a result, the National Audit Office (NAO) has issued
qualified opinions on the MoD’s 2024–25 financial statements, meaning
the accounts do not meet normal standards of accuracy and transparency.
Crucially, the NAO found that the UK Government has “not provided
accounting records for ongoing capital projects” carried out on its
behalf by the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE), a non-departmental public
body that helps deliver the UK’s nuclear weaponry. Auditors found that
AWE projects on behalf of the MoD “constituted £6.13 billion of the
value of the department’s assets under construction”. Of this total,
£1.5bn was said to relate to “legacy projects” – but the MoD was
found to be “unable to provide supporting evidence” that this figure
was appropriate. The NAO also said it had found “several other
balances” within the £6.13bn figure that did not meet the standard
required to be signed off by auditors, without going into specifics.

 The National 4th Nov 2025

 https://www.thenational.scot/news/25595083.uk-government-rapped-billions-unaccounted-nuclear-spending/