MoD denies thousands more army jobs to go

By Nick Eardley
Published on Sunday 13 November 2011 00:00

THE Ministry of Defence has denied claims thousands of injured army personnel could lose their jobs after a report suggested the rate of redundancies could double in the next four years.

The memo indicated that as many as 2,500 wounded soldiers could lose their jobs by 2015.

The department apparently planned a massive increase in the rate of redundancy – meaning that 16,500 personnel could be laid of by April 2015 – according to a draft document.

The MoD denied the claims yesterday, saying the information was “factually incorrect” and the work of a junior officer and said there are no plans to change the level of cuts to the armed forces that had been set out in the summer.

Angus Robertson, the SNP’s Westminster leader, yesterday questioned why the report had been written in the first place.

He said: “The MoD must explain why this memo was written and distributed in the first place and why the author got the idea that wounded soldiers could be made redundant.”

He added: “Why is there speculation that there will be even more redundancies?

“Any suggestion of such redundancies would be an appalling betrayal of our servicemen and women who have served with bravery and distinction.”

The memo also said 350 soldiers who had lost limbs in action would not be exempt from consideration for redundancy, a move which shadow defence secretary Jim Murphy would be “the cruellest cut of all”.

A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: “The information in this leaked army memo from a junior officer is incorrect.

“Beyond those already announced, there are no further army reductions planned.

“There is absolutely no plan to change our treatment of service personnel who are wounded, injured or sick.

“No-one will leave the armed forces through redundancy or otherwise until they have reached a point in their recovery where leaving the armed forces is the right decision, however long it takes.”

Last year’s strategic defence review – conducted before Liam Fox was forced to resign from the ministry – revealed that the size of army would fall by 7,000 by 2015.

More than 900 soldiers were among 2,870 service personnel who lost their jobs in the first round of redundancies earlier this year – with future tranches yet to be announced as the military drastically reduces numbers.

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