A parliamentary watchdog, analysts and the media have heavily criticized the defence ministry in the last year for going ahead with plans to build two new aircraft carriers, only to have one mothballed upon completion and the other not expected to be fully operational until 2020. The ministry also scrapped a multi-billion-dollar order for Nimrod surveillance planes after a comprehensive military review last year, part of the Conservative-led government's efforts to shrink the 38 billion pound ($60 billion) defence budget "black hole" it says it inherited from the previous Labour government. Chief of Defence Materiel Bernard Gray, hired last year to rein in spiralling costs and delays in military procurement and maintenance, told the BBC Radio 4 programme "Buying Defence" he would recommend hiring from the private sector. He said he was looking at ways of forming partnerships with private sector organisations. The move towards the private sector could prove controversial given the defence ministry is in the process of sacking thousands of staff, and has already been criticised for spending too much on external consultants.