Vernon Coaker MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Defence, responding to reports that the MOD has spent over 270K on calls to directory enquiries, said:

“The public will be amazed that in the middle of a cost of living crisis, hundreds of thousands of taxpayer pounds are being squandered on costly calls to these premium numbers.

"It is unacceptable that when military personnel are being made redundant, £270,000 is being wasted right under Philip Hammond’s nose at the MoD.

"Ministers must give the country confidence that waste rather than capabilities are being cut.”