MPs send letter of revolt over Army cuts to Defence Secretary Phillip Hammond
TORY MPs have rebelled over plans to reduce the Army to its smallest size in 200 years.
About 25 backbenchers have signed a letter to Defence Secretary Philip Hammond urging him to save regular units.
They say they would rather see the money spent on defence than on “white elephants” such as the £42.6billion HS2 rail link.
Under the cuts, the regular Army is being cut from 102,000 to 82,000 while the Army Reserve is being expanded from 19,000 to 30,000 by 2028. But critics say the Army is struggling to recruit reservists.
In their letter the MPs say: “Well-recruited battalions are being disbanded whilst more poorly recruited battalions are being preserved. Such a policy simply reinforces failure.”