Britain's troop budget has been cut as ministers continue to slash the Army - despite Russia ’s invasion of Ukraine.
Soldier numbers are being reduced from 82,000 to 72,500 as the Tories resist calls to halt cuts following Vladimir Putin ’s war on his neighbour.
Figures uncovered by Labour show how the Government has started saving cash on the service personnel slice of defence funds.
The latest Ministry of Defence annual report shows the budget for service personnel was £10.39billion for 2021-2022 - a drop of £120m from £10.51bn the previous year.
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Shadow Armed Forces Minister Luke Pollard said: “The Conservatives are failing our frontline forces and their families.
“Despite rising threats, the Government is pushing ahead with a £1.7bn cut in day-to-day MoD spending, which means less money for Forces’ recruitment, training, pay and families.
“Ministers must reboot defence plans and halt further Army cuts now.”
An MoD spokesman said: “Over four years we are investing an extra £24bn in defence - the biggest investment in the UK’s Armed Forces since the end of the Cold War.
“Our Armed Forces have met 98% of their recruitment target for regular soldiers and 100% of their target for regular officers last year and fulfils all operational commitments.
“Under Future Soldier, the Army will have over 100,000 personnel made up of a trained Regular Army of 73,000 and a total Army Reserve of over 30,000.”
