The MoD spent £180million laying off troops and other staff last year – then splashed out £750,000 on a recruitment drive. Military top brass have had to axe thousands of soldiers, sailors and airmen after the Tory-led Coalition slashed their budget by 8%. It means over the past two years taxpayers have forked out £473million in redundancy to forces personnel. Despite slashing troops’ pay, pensions, allowances and thousands of jobs defence chiefs then tried to attract 10,000 new recruits. Shadow Defence Secretary Jim Murphy said: “The Government is spending millions on sackings and thousands on recruitment. "The country will want confidence that ministers are not wasting money as well as human capital. “The Government’s failed plan for the Armed Forces has left service personnel under-valued and under-powered.” David Cameron had claimed defence spending would rise after five years of austerity measures. But in spring the PM declared there will be further cuts to the Armed Forces after the 2015 election. The Army is already being slashed from 102,000 soldiers to 82,000, the smallest since the Napoleonic wars. The Royal Navy will soon have the lowest staff in its history and the RAF is shrinking to levels not seen since the First World War The MoD said: “Tough decisions had to be made to deal with the financial legacy left by the previous government. "This unfortunately included redundancies. Despite that it is vital the Armed Forces continue to recruit enough quality junior ranks and young officers.”
Posted on: Fri, 13 Sep 2013 07:22:55 +0000