It makes no military sense to cut troop numbers, warns brigadier

 

Defence Secretary Philip Hammond was today hit by a backlash from a senior Army figure over plans to slash troop numbers.

In a leaked letter, Brig David Paterson, the honorary Colonel of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers (RRF), warned that axing soldiers in the infantry battalion was not the “most sensible military option”.

In a letter to the Army’s chief of general staff Gen Sir Peter Wall, written last month, Brig Paterson said: “I would not want you to have even the slightest impression that I am challenging your orders. If challenged or scrutinised by, for example the media, it cannot be presented as the best or most sensible military option.”

The Daily Telegraph reported that it would be announced on Thursday that the RRF would face a cut from 1,100 soldiers to 600 as part of plans to reduce Army numbers by a fifth to 82,000 by 2020.

The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards and the Royal Dragoon Guards, which fought at Waterloo, are expected to be spared, as are the three Parachute Regiments and the Queen’s Dragoon Guards.

However, seven units are expected to be overhauled. They are believed to include the 3rd Battalion, the

Yorkshire Regiment, the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, the Royal Welsh, the Mercians, the Royal Tank Regiment, and the merger of the Queen’s Royal Lancers and the 9th/12th Lancers.

A Ministry of Defence spokeswoman said: “We don’t comment on leaked documents. The CGS [chief of general staff] has held a number of discussions about the restructuring of the Army with senior officers.”

Shadow defence secretary Jim Murphy said: “The Government is presiding over an erosion of trust and a decline in military morale.

“Tough decisions are necessary, but ministers’ continued speculation and delay has only heightened uncertainty and a sense of disarray.”

News of the Army cutbacks came 24 hours after it was confirmed that three British soldiers were killed in Afghanistan by a rogue policeman.

Two soldiers with the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards and one with the Royal Corps of Signals, were shot at a checkpoint in the southern Helmand province. The Afghan policeman was shot, wounded and captured.

So far, 18 British troops have died in attacks by Afghan security forces in the 11-year conflict. The latest deaths take the British military toll in Afghanistan to 422.

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