MPs warn forces are overstretched and unable to take on new tasks

Published on Tuesday 9 February 2010 22:00

SEVEN years of fighting on two fronts in Iraq and Afghanistan have left the armed forces ill- prepared to take on any new tasks, MPs have warned.

The Commons defence committee says the forces need a period of "effective recuperation" after an extended period operating above normal planning assumptions.

In a report outlining the toll over the past years, MPs have told how RAF pilots were unable to train because aircraft were tied up on operations, the navy had too many commitments, while senior generals believed the army needed another 10,000 troops.

The committee fired a warning shot across the bows of a possible incoming Conservative government, cautioning against cuts in an emergency "stringency budget" which could leave it unable to carry through the strategic defence review (SDR) promised by all the main parties.

The report quoted Lieutenant-General Sir Graeme Lamb, Commander of the Field Army, who said his fellow senior officers believed the army needed to be expanded from about 102,000 troops to 112,000 to meet the demands placed on it.

"The army has been working at full stretch," it said. "Given the high tempo of operations over the last eight years, it is not surprising that some senior officers think there needs to be a bigger army."

"We must warn against the risk that an early stringency budget might prejudge the outcome of the strategic defence review."

The report concludes: "The thinking of easier times – when public spending on health, education and social security was increased by much more than that on defence – must not be allowed to continue."