The UK Defence Secretary has warned rebel Tory backbenchers that if they put the recruitment of Army reservists on hold they will put regular soldiers at risk.
Philip Hammond told that any move to “pause” the recruitment drive for part-time soldiers would not reverse the cuts being made to the regular force.
Instead, he said, it “would put at risk our ability to support the regular army properly in a further enduring operations like the one we have been carrying out in Afghanistan.”
Conservative Party rebels led by Basildon MP John Baron are preparing to vote against the Government plans to axe 20,000 Army jobs and replace them with reservists on Wednesday afternoon.
Under the plans the newly named Army Reserve, formerly the Territorial Army (TA), would increase in size to 30,000 by 2018.
Mr John Baron told the Government’s plans needed to be put on hold so they could be “properly scrutinised” to see if they are viable and cost effective.
He said: “There are so many questions that remain unanswered, let’s stop for a moment, let’s properly scrutinise these plans and if they pass that scrutiny test by Parliament then, fine, they can proceed.”
But Mr Hammond issued a robust warning to Mr Baron and his fellow rebels saying: “What they are trying to pause is the recruitment of the reservists.
“Reduction in the size of the regular army is already under way and it cannot be reversed so the effect of this amendment today would not be to make the regular army larger but it will be to prevent us recruiting the reserve that will support that regular army in the future.”
He admitted that training a reservist was about a fifth of the cost of a regular soldier but said that it was not about getting an Army on the cheap but holding a force in reserve for times of “stress”
Mr Hammond said the expanded reserve force would give the Army a “surge” capability.
This week soldiers from 1st Battalion, the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, were cheered by crowds in Rochdale and Bury as they marched through the towns following their return from a six-month tour of Afghanistan.
They face the possibility of job losses as the Government restructuring proposals involve axing their sister 2nd Battalion, the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, and merging the two together.
Captain Rex Anderton told : “There’s a lot of disappointment, but we’re a very reactive force, we’ve learnt to deal with change as it comes, that’s one of the good things about the British Army is that we adapt and overcome whatever the decisions are made at a higher level.”
Veteran Fusilier Stephen Taylor, who served for six years in the regular army and 10 years in the TA, told : “When you’re a regular you’re training every day of your life, seven days a week. When you’re in the TA you’re allowed to go home.
“Reservists can only do so much. You need the regular Army to train the other people up, but the reservists can only do half the job.”
Chief of the General Staff, General Sir Peter Wall, said: “To reverse course at this stage would be destabilising and damaging. Increasing and rebuilding the Army Reserve is crucial to delivering the fighting force of the future.
“To do otherwise would leave a gap in our capability and deprive talented young people of an opportunity to benefit from military service.
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