Forces face biggest cuts since Cold War
By George Jones, Political Editor
(Filed: 09/07/2004)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.../09/ndef09.xml
The armed forces are facing the biggest cuts since the end of the Cold War in next week's Government spending review.
There was growing alarm at Westminster last night that all the Services will be scaled back as a result of plans to create a more flexible and rapidly deployable force structure. The Navy will have fewer destroyers and frigates; the Army will lose tanks and regiments will be axed or merged; and the RAF will lose thousands of personnel and some of its jets will be grounded.
The MoD budget is already under strain because of the conflict in Iraq. It has lost out in the spending round to overseas aid and the domestic fight against terrorism.
Nicholas Soames, the Conservative defence spokesman, said yesterday it would be an "act of almost grotesque folly" for the Government to cut the number of infantry regiments at a time when the Armed Forces were severely overstretched.
He said there were now more troops on overseas operations than at any time since the 1950s. Mr Soames said there were likely to be "substantial cuts" in the RAF. "We are talking about losing fast jets and airfields."
The Navy was facing reductions in manpower and ships because of a £1.5 billion "black hole" in the defence budget. "Labour's failure will be taken out on the armed forces," Mr Soames said.
