MoD to cut head office staff by 25%

The military's "top-heavy" command will be cut by a quarter under the latest in a wave of defence cuts, the Government has said.

One in four senior posts from the ranks of commodore, brigadier, air commodore and above will go, Defence Secretary Philip Hammond announced.

The top brass cull, which will take two years to carry out, is expected to save the Ministry of Defence around £3.8 million a year.

Mr Hammond said: "At a time when we are making difficult decisions about defence spending and have had to accept reductions across the board, we cannot ignore the volume of posts at the top. For too long the MoD has been top-heavy, with too many senior civilians and military.

"Not only does this new structure reduce senior staff posts by up to a quarter in the next two years but it allows clear strategic priorities to be set for the Armed Forces. It will hold the frontline commands to account for their delivery and support them in the tasks they are set."

Government cuts will reduce the number of regular soldiers from 102,000 to 82,000 by 2020, with reservist numbers doubled to 30,000 to help fill the gap.

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