Deaths of up to 60 British servicemen linked to 'poor equipment', Tory inquiry finds

Frederick Forsyth, the author and former RAF pilot chairing the special investigation into the treatment of the armed forces, accused ministers of 'frittering away billions' on pet projects while refusing to give troops fighting overseas the resources they need.

He said the work of the Military Covenant Commission - set up by David Cameron to help develop a Tory defence manifesto - had uncovered 'inadequate' policies towards the military in virtually every area it examined, from healthcare and education for troops' families to housing and legal support.

The bodies of five British servicemen killed recently in Afghanistan: A fifth of the 278 deaths of servicemen in Iraq and Afghanistan were blamed by the report on poor equipment

But  the poor standards of operational equipment was the most serious, he said, as it made the difference between life and death - and was implicated in around a fifth of the 278 deaths of servicemen and women in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Government ministers hit back, insisting they had invested massively in new equipment for the forces, and accusing the Conservatives of stealing policies they had already announced.

The Commission's interim findings follow fierce criticism from some British coroners at inquests into the deaths of servicemen abroad, criticising shortcomings in equipment for frontline troops.

Frederick Forsyth: 'What has angered me is to see fine young men coming home in boxes draped in a flag who should never have died at all'

Presenting the interim findings Mr Forsyth said: 'What has angered me is to see fine young men coming home in boxes draped in a flag who should never have died at all, and died because they were required to go in harm's way with crap equipment.

'If you add them all together, you are looking at 50 to 60 young men. That angers me because we have the money in this country.

'We have seen 10 years of the most unbelievable frittering away of billions on schemes that never work by a Chancellor who repeatedly refused to recognise that, with two vicious wars going on, we needed extra funds.

'He provided the funds for his personal favoured projects, but they didn't include the armed forces. There is a responsibility here, there is a blame here and there ought to be a guilt here, which they don't feel.

'It's not good enough for the sixth largest economy in the world.'

The report warned that the so-called Military Covenant between Government, society and the armed forces was 'under serious and unprecedented strain.'

An exodus of experienced personnel is being fuelled by a range of factors which worsen the plight of service families, including:

* Housing - with 'shameful' examples of both barracks accommodation for single men and married quarters for families.

* Healthcare - when families move around due to military postings they immediately fall to the bottom of NHS waiting lists, and struggle to find NHS dentists.

* Education - children from service families tend to under-achieve at school due to constant moving and disruption, but there is no extra funding to help schools cope.

Proposals include a new 'pupil premium' - increasing cash for schools educating service children - and new rules allowing families to transfer their place in NHS treatment queues if they move house.

The Tories would also carry out a detailed review of defence commitments and resources every four years, to avoid the overstretch which has blighted the armed forces for years under Labour.

Shadow defence secretary Liam Fox said that while he could not set out firm spending pledges this far ahead of a general election, he wanted to reassure the armed forces that their problems were properly understood.

Armed forces minister Bob Ainsworth said the Government had already announced plans to tackle many of the issues raised, and would set out more proposals in a defence White Paper later this year.

He added: 'Ministerial colleagues and I recognise the unique role that our armed forces play in the service of our country - the White Paper will reflect this.'

Responding to claims that 60 men were killed by poor kit, the MOD said: 'Our troops are some of the best equipped in the world.  We have delivered kit worth more than £10billion in the last three years with over £3.5bn on urgent operational requirements such as improved body armour, electronic counter measures and protected vehicles.'