Defence cuts: More than 4,000 armed forces jobs to go

MORE than 4,000 members of the armed forces are to lose their jobs as a result of cutbacks, the Ministry of Defence has confirmed.

Up to 2,900 members of the Army, 1,000 members of the Royal Air Force and 300 members of the Royal Navy will be made redundant in the second tranche of the redundancy programme set out in the Government’s Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR), intended to help plug the £38 billion black hole in the defence budget.

Defence Secretary Philip Hammond insisted the Government had “no choice” but to axe the posts, though he insisted the armed forces would remain “agile”.

He said: “Difficult decisions had to be taken in the SDSR to deal with the vast black hole in the MoD budget.

“The size of the fiscal deficit we inherited left us no choice but to reduce the size of the armed forces - while reconfiguring them to ensure they remain agile, adaptable and effective.

“As we continue with the redundancy process, we will ensure we retain the capabilities that our armed forces will require to meet the challenges of the future.

“The redundancy programme will not impact adversely on the current operations in Afghanistan, where our armed forces continue to fight so bravely on this country’s behalf.”