'No Plans To Shrink British Army', Defence Secretary Says

The Defence Secretary has dismissed claims that there are plans to shrink the British Army, saying the report in The Sunday Times is “nonsense”.

Ben Wallace took to Twitter to clear the record, following an article which said the Army will be “slashed” in size.

“For the record: there are no plans to shrink the Army.

“In fact, my direction to the Army has been to improve recruiting and retention levels.”

“This story is nonsense,” Mr Wallace said.

The Sunday Times reported there were discussions in place to reduce the Army’s numbers to between 60,000 and 65,000.

Ahead of the Conservatives' manifesto launch, Mr Wallace said: “In the manifesto there will be new policies to help.”

It’s believed the Army needs 10,000 recruits a year to maintain a front-line strength of 82,500.

But recruitment is falling below its targets - last year the outsourcing company Capita only managed to bring in fewer than one in 10 of the recruits the Army needed.