23 July 2004
Around 10,000 civil service posts at the Ministry of Defence will be axed under a radical shake-up announced by Geoff Hoon this week.
The defence secretary also plans to slash the size of the military by 10,000, with the Royal Air Force bearing the brunt of a 'restructuring' that has identified efficiency savings of £2.8bn.
Much of the savings will be spent on new technologies to improve Britain's defence capabilities, Hoon claimed.
Speaking on July 21, he said the changes, which should be completed by 2008, were necessary in the post-Cold War era, adding that the government remained committed to defending Britain. The MoD would still have an army of around 102,000, the department said.
Critics, however, immediately attacked the government's cost-cutting exercise as 'reckless' in an unstable global military environment.
Conservative defence spokesman Nicholas Soames said it reflected the 'deep crisis' in Britain's defence budget.
Bruce George, Labour chair of the Commons' defence select committee, went further. He said: 'Please explain who the idiot was who thinks you can cut the infantry at a time when the pressure on them is enormous.'
Hoon has announced that around 7,500 jobs will go at the RAF, with the navy facing further cuts of 1,500 serving personnel.
A number of aircraft, tanks and ships will be taken out of service, yet Hoon said the 'majority of reductions will not affect the front lines'.
However, despite claiming that many of the job cuts could be met through natural wastage, Hoon warned that 'inevitably there will be redundancies'.
MoD civilian support staff will also be affected.
PFjul2004
