British Army could be cut to just 50,000 over next four years, report warns

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Defence & Security News - United Kingdom
 
British Army could be cut to just 50,000 over next four years, report warns
Defence budgets could be cut by up to another 10 per cent during the next parliament. The British Army could be reduced to its smallest size in nearly 250 years, taking its overall troop level to just 50,000 soldiers, a former Government defence adviser has warned. A report by the respected Royal United Services Institute (Rusi) suggests that defence budgets may be slashed by 10 per cent during the next parliament, shrinking personnel for the three Armed Forces by as many as 42,000.
     
British Army could be cut to just 50,000 over next four years, report warnsBritish Army could suffer severe cuts in the newt years
     

Britain’s military appears once again in line for massive culls after the next general election because of the continuing austerity drive and a lack of commitment by any of the major parties to protect defence spending, Rusi said.

Downing Street has been forced to deny that David Cameron and George Osborne, the Chancellor, are at “loggerheads” over whether to maintain the Nato target of committing two per cent of the nation's finances to defence.

Regular Army soldiers are already being reduced from 102,000 to 82,000 and a new defence review under the next government could see numbers cut again by around 40 per cent, Rusi warned. It would mean the smallest Army since the 1770s, when Britain lost the American colonies.

The report comes ahead a crucial debate in the House of Commons on Thursday when Tory MPs are expected to push for a vote to force the Prime Minister Cameron into a commitment on defence spending. Tensions over the £36 billion (€50 billion) defence budget are high at a time relations with Vladimir Putin’s Russia are strained and the threat from Isil in Iraq and Syria is growing.

US President Barack Obama and his military chiefs have already expressed concerns over further cuts in Britain’s defence and warned it could damage the Army's ability to fight future campaigns. Last week, the head of the America’s Army, Chief of Staff General Raymond Odierno, told the Telegraph he was “concerned” about suggestions Britain may not maintain the Nato target.