SAS will pay the price if MoD cuts 1,000 Royal Marines in forces review

A COST-CUTTING proposal to axe 1,000 Royal Marines would quickly lead to a shortfall in Britain’s elite special forces, internal Ministry of Defence (MoD) estimates have suggested.

Just under half of Britain’s special forces are taken from the Marines and the cut would significantly restrict their recruiting pool.

Service chiefs have each been asked to submit proposals to save money as the MoD tries to hit savings targets of £20billion over the next decade before the Treasury will release money for new warships, planes and vehicles.

Cutting 1,000 Marines from their current total of 6,600 and selling amphibious ships is understood to be one of the First Sea Lord’s suggested options.

A senior former Royal Navy officer said modelling had been conducted into the effect of a similar proposal during the 2010 defence review. It predicted that a cut of 1,000 Marines would lead within two years to the loss of the equivalent of around 60 special forces troops.

Losses to Britain’s special forces, currently 700 to 800 strong, would continue as time went on. The officer said: “It was based on the fact that the Royal Marines currently provide 44 per cent of all UK special forces. That actually became in the 2010 review a really significant statistic. The special forces today have difficulty filling their ranks because they have absolute standards.”

Last night, the MoD said it would not comment on special forces. Sources said almost all the Special Boat Service (SBS) are taken from the Marines and as many as a fifth of the Special Air Service (SAS). Britain’s highly respected special forces are in great demand to work alongside UK allies including the US. The former officer said: “It carries great weight with our allies when we deploy our special forces alongside them.”

Another source said the special forces were already finding it more difficult to recruit as the size of the Army has fallen by nearly a quarter since the 2010 defence review. The source said: “You can’t reduce regular numbers without it directly impacting special forces.”

Maj Gen Julian Thompson, who commanded 3 Commando Brigade during the Falklands War, said cutting 1,000 Marines would mean commanders having to “lower the standards or accept you have lower numbers”.

Johnny Mercer MP, who has been lobbying against the cut, said: “It’s just not credible to cut our best capabilities.”

However, the Royal Marines are facing opposition from parts of the wider Royal Navy who would rather cut Marines than sailors needed to man new carriers and frigates.