Soldier exodus ‘will leave Britain incapable of defending itself ’

BRITAIN’S ability to deter hostile states is being undermined by an exodus of soldiers, MPS have warned.

The public accounts committee said that credibility in the Armed Forces was essential for effective deterrence, but it was being undercut by “recruitment and retention issues”.

The warning came as part of a report into the Ministry of Defence budget, in which MPS sounded the alarm over the huge gap between military spending and Government expectations of the Armed Forces’ capabilities.

The report warned that the Mod’s unprecedented deficit, reported to be £16.9billion, could in fact be almost £29billion – as parts of the Armed Forces report their budgets differently to others. MPS also raised the alert that Government projects to develop nuclear submarine reactors and missiles appear to be “unachievable”.

The influential cross-party group of MPS said today: “For deterrence to be effective the UK’S Armed Forces must be credible. Such credibility is undermined by widely reported recruitment and retention issues, with more people leaving the Armed Forces than are being recruited, the mothballing of Royal Navy ships because of crew shortages, and the unavailability this year of the only Royal Navy ship able to fully replenish the UK’S aircraft carriers because of a refit.”

They warned that the MOD was “becoming increasingly reliant on the UK’S allies” to protect national interests.

The report urged the ministry to work with industry and the higher education sector to ensure that enough highly skilled workers and apprentices were entering defence.

Meanwhile in the Royal Navy, two warships were destined to be decommissioned because of a lack of sailors earlier this year, as first revealed in The Telegraph.

The report also said that the department’s approach to dealing with its largest ever deficit was predicated on an “optimistic assumption” that Government defence spending would be boosted to 2.5 per cent of GDP.

A spokesman for the MOD said: “Our Armed Forces stand ready to protect the UK and as a leading contributor to Nato, we continue to defend our national interests and those of our allies.”

They insisted that the department was “delivering the capabilities our forces need”.