Is It Time To Sack The British Defence Minister?

I'm referring to a comment he made recently which indicates that he is out of touch with a phenomenon in aviation, that of the drunk pilot.

In a statement attempting to refute the recent allegation that Prince Harry is a "shameless drunken jackal", surely an obvious fact, the minister goes on to add:

ca.news.yahoo.com...

Britain's Ministry of Defence dismissed his remarks. "It is nonsense to suggest that any British pilot would be drunk in charge of their aircraft," a ministry spokesman said.

Nothing could be further from the truth as anyone could see simply by googling "drunken british pilots".

Here is one example of drunk military pilots:

www.thesun.co.uk...

www.abc.net.au...

Squadrons of airline pilots have been found drunk:

news.bbc.co.uk...

One expert, commenting on why RAF pilots are given preference for British Airways jobs had this to say:

answers.nnhit.com...

. . . RAF pilots are trained to fly drunk, which gives them an enormous advantage in the private sector, where most pilots tend to get a little bit drunk when flying. I mean, who can blame them? Flying from Toronto to Seoul is long as hell and very boring, and after all those sexual harassment suits from the flight attendants, you really can't count on the customary transcontinental BJ that used to be the norm. Not that flying drunk is such a big deal anymore. With all the automation these days, planes pretty much fly themselves. Really, pilots are only there to make the passengers feel better. As long as you can stand up straight without weaving and smile while the passengers disembark, you've got 90% of your job nailed down.

In short, should the Minister's performance be reviewed?