By KUNA
London : British ministers hit back Friday after Prime Minister Gordon Brown and the Government came under attack from former military top brass over the treatment of UK armed forces.
Five former chiefs of the defence staff warned of “blood on the floor” at the Ministry of Defence because of inadequate funding.
Admiral Lord Boyce said the Prime Minister had treated the armed services with “contempt” and “disinterest.” Defence Minister Derek Twigg said there had been the longest period of growth in defence spending since the 1980s.
Twigg told BBC domestic radio that the Government was absolutely committed to the armed forces.
The next spending round would see an increase of 7.7 billion pounds for defence, he added.
The former defence chiefs spoke during a debate in the House of Lords in which there were calls to improve levels of military funding.
Admiral Lord Boyce criticised a decision to give Des Browne the jobs of both Defence Secretary and Scottish Secretary.
He said, “It is seen as an insult by our sailors, our soldiers and our airmen on the front line.
“It is certainly a demonstration of the disinterest and some might say contempt that the Prime Minister and his Government has for our armed forces.
“And it shows an appalling lack of judgment at a time when our people are being killed and they are being maimed.” Speaking later to BBC TV, Admiral Lord Boyce said the military was also chronically underfunded.
He said, “The money that defence was given for its budget is not sufficient to meet the level of activities that the armed forces are currently engaged in.
“If you start back, say 10 years ago, from the strategic defence review that itself was underfunded…since then the gap has not been closed.” For his part, General Lord Guthrie blamed the Prime Minister for “the very serious situation we find the services in today.” And Marshal of the Royal Air Force Lord Craig asked whether it was “immoral to commit forces that are under-prepared and ill-equipped for their task?” Further criticisms were levelled by Field Marshals Lord Bramall and Lord Inge.
They were later joined by Labour former defence minister Lord Gilbert, who said “injudicious actions” by the Prime Minister had brought criticism on himself.
Lord Gilbert called Brown’s failure to thank troops in the speech by the British Queen Elizabeth at the opening of Parliament earlier this month as “quite extraordinary.” “I think it showed a great insensitivity not only to the morale of the troops but to their families as well,” he told the BBC.
Meanwhile, a source close to Brown criticised the former defence chiefs for speaking out when they knew the Prime Minister was at the Commonwealth summit in Uganda.
The source suggested that as former senior public servants they should “know better.” The House of Lords’ concerted action follows months of concern from organisations such as the Royal British Legion, that looks after serving military personnel and veterans, that the UK’s armed forces are over-stretched and underfunded for the missions they are being asked to carry out in Iraq and Afghanistan.
They point out that during the early 1980s the Government spent almost five percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on defence but today the figure is closer to 2.5 percent.
Later today the Government will announce a priority health care package for injured soldiers.
Veterans will be given fast-track treatment on the state-funded National Health Service, and special centres will be set up for those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.