Will the government dare to block the private equity takeover of defence contractor Cobham?

The Business Department has referred Advent International’s much-criticised £4bn bid to the Competition and Markets Authority citing national security concerns, writes James Moore

Cobham has pioneered air to air refuelling (Reuters)

The government’s decision to call in the proposed takeover of defence contractor Cobham is something that scarcely seemed possible for this administration: it’s made the right decision.

I suppose even a stopped clock tells the right time twice a day.

The £4bn bid tabled by Advent International, one of those US private equity outfits with fingers in more pies than Greggs cooks up on a Monday morning, is partly the consequence of the government’s string of bad decisions relating to Brexit.