Lord Michael Ashcroft now senior independent adviser

Lord Michael Ashcroft

It was announced on Tuesday in London that Lord Michael Ashcroft has been named to a key government appointment.  Lord Ashcroft will now serve as the lead adviser to the military review of British troops in Cyrus. According to the report, Liam Fox, the defense secretary said that Lord Ashcroft would serve as the unpaid senior independent adviser to the review of Britain’s sovereign military bases in Cyprus where three thousand troops are stationed. The statement from the defense secretary said “As part of the follow-on work to the strategic defense and security review, the prime minister, the foreign secretary and I have agreed that a separate study on the British sovereign base areas in Cyprus should be undertaken. The study will be informed by independent advice, and Lord Ashcroft has agreed to undertake the role of senior independent adviser, along with Patrick Mercer MP. The study is expected to be complete by the end of 2011.” The Guardian newspaper in London also reports that the Tories were determined on the appointment because Ashcroft has a long track record in supporting the military. His Victoria Cross collection, the largest in the world, is on display at the Imperial War Museum and he recently made a substantive donation of one million pounds to the Bomber Command Memorial appeal.