Labour has discovered that Britain has almost 8,000 fewer troops than are needed to fulfil the Government’s own basic defence requirements, on the same day that the Defence Select Committee has said that the Government has “failed to communicate the rationale  and strategy” behind its plans for the Armed Forces.

Vernon Coaker MP, Labour’s Shadow Defence Secretary, said:

“The Defence Committee has delivered a damning verdict on the Government’s Army 2020 plans. Labour warned that there could be consequences for Britain’s safety and security, but the Defence Secretary ignored all advice and sacked thousands of  regular soldiers without the promised increase in reserve recruitment to fill the gap.

“Now it has emerged that there is a worrying gap between the number of Armed Forces personnel we need, and the amount we’ve actually got. The shortfall – which stands now at nearly 8,000 - is growing even as the requirement is reducing.

“Following this latest setback, the Defence Secretary should pause his redundancy programme until it’s clear that Britain’s Armed Forces won’t be left with a dangerous capability gap.”

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