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Watchkeeper Is Nearly the Death of Hoon
Chaos descended on the Watchkeeper announcement as SBAC officials feared the upstairs floor of their venue would collapse—with Defence Minister Geoff Hoon on board—due to the number of people present. No one, it seems, had anticipated that one of the biggest defense industry announcements of the year would attract a crowd. The event was held in a wholly inadequate section of the SBAC stand, and as it began to creak under the overload, concerned officials warned those beneath the floor to move away immediately. Scores of attendees from press and industry were shut out, and tempers flared. A host of Thales representatives watched from below as their contract win was announced without them.
A row then blew up between UK MoD press handlers and SBAC personnel over who was to blame. As a senior MoD press officer declared, "It's nothing to do with us, it's all the SBAC's fault; this was the only venue they could offer us." An SBAC representative stepped in smartly to point out that the MoD had done little or no planning for the event and had completely underestimated the level of interest that the announcement would attract. The Minister survived, this time, but would be well advised to check the floor-loading limits for any future appearances.
—Robert Hewson
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