MoD has lost track of veterans on recall list, says defence adviser

Army exercises on Salisbury Plain. About 32,000 volunteers are in the active reserve with a further 95,000 former soldiers and officers in the strategic reserve. Photograph: Finnbarr Webster/Getty Images

The Ministry of Defence has lost track of military veterans they intend to recall at a time of national danger, according to a key government adviser.

About 95,000 former soldiers and officers are in the strategic reserve but it is claimed that officials have failed to maintain a full record of their contact details.