Chancellor told armed forces pay cap is ‘unjust’

Six former armed forces chiefs have urged George Osborne against a 1 per cent cap on pay rises for service personnel, calling the move “unjust”.

In an open letter to the Chancellor, they said a real-terms pay cut would damage the morale of members of the forces.

The letter’s signatories were former chiefs of the defence staff Lord Guthrie, Lord Boyce and Lord Craig, former army commander Lord Dannatt, ex-First Sea Lord Lord West and former RAF chief Sir Peter Squire.

They wrote: “While the nation is asking many of its military to face great danger in Afghanistan and other areas around the world, we do not believe this is just.

“We are also concerned about the effect a real-terms pay cut will have on the morale of our soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines, who are already under great financial strain.

“We found this decision particularly inappropriate when coming at the same time as the announcement that welfare benefit payments will this year see a 5.2 per cent increase.”

They asked Mr Osborne to make armed forces personnel exempt from a public sector-wide 1 per cent cap on salary increases to recognise the “particular sacrifices” they make.

The group also urged a return of decision making for service personnel’s pay levels to the Armed Forces’ Pay Review Body. Service personnel face a two-year pay freeze – unless they earn less than £21,000 a year – followed by two further years in which rises will be capped at 1 per cent.