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MoD accused of 'bungling' army cuts
Ministers have been accused of putting Britain's military capabilities at risk by "bungling" money-saving army reforms.
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) criticised the Ministry of Defence (MoD) for failing to consult the head of the Army fully before pushing ahead with deep cuts to regular forces.
It was also criticised for squandering millions of pounds through a flawed deal with Capita.
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Chances of boots on the ground in Iraq 'pretty remote'
Cuts to the army are not a huge cause for concern because the chances of Britain putting a large force on the ground in Iraq is "pretty remote", an armed forces expert has said.
Major General Tim Cross tried to play down reports the MoD had botched cuts it was making to the armed forces and told Good Morning Britain army recruitment was driven by events.
Handling of cash saving army reforms 'astonishing'
The way the MoD has handled reforms to the army designed to save money after the 2008 crash "astonishing".
Chair of the Public Accounts Committee, Margaret Hodge, hit out at decision not to include the chief of general staff at all stages of the decision-making process.
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MoD accused of 'bungling' army money saving reforms
The Ministry of Defence has been accused of putting Britain's military capabilities at risk by "bungling" money-saving army reforms.
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) criticised the MoD for failing to consult the head of the Army fully before pushing ahead with deep cuts to regular forces.
It also gave little consideration to whether it was possible for reservist numbers to be near-doubled by 2019 and managed to squander millions of pounds through a flawed deal with Capita.
The scheme was intended to save more than £10 billion over a decade, by cutting 20,000 personnel from the regular army and increasing reservist strength to 30,000.
But the National Audit Office (NAO) has suggested that the recruitment target could take six years longer than planned to hit.
The committee said it "remained to be convinced" that the goal could be reached on time.