Army chief defends recruitment move

Brigadier Andrew Jackson, Commander of the Army Recruiting Group, said the timing was "coincidental" and rejected suggestions the money could have been better spent on improving pay or equipment.

But he also revealed the army was on course to miss its annual recruitment target by around 10% as he launched the To The Best campaign which encourages the public to show their support for British troops.

Polling carried out for the launch showed the public drawing a sharp distinction between their opinions of the wars in Iraq or Afghanistan and the soldiers themselves.

While only 41% of those surveyed said they backed operations in Iraq and Afghanistan (with 38% opposed outright), 87% nevertheless said they supported British soldiers.

The campaign, which includes a series of emotive television advertisements, urges people to log their support for the armed forces on a new website: www.tothebest.army.mod.uk

The subtitled advertisements feature civilians in Bosnia, Afghanistan, Sierra Leone and Ghana thanking UK soldiers for services ranging from dramatic rescues to drilling new boreholes.

Brig Jackson highlighted the positive media coverage of Prince Harry's deployment to Afghanistan as reflecting the mood in the country in support of troops. But he acknowledged a series of high-profile controversies over support for soldiers in society at large including the row over forces personnel wearing uniforms in public.

And while he accepted that a website might be seen as an "abstract" way for the public to express support for soldiers sent to dangerous places, he said he hoped it would lead to people doing so in other ways such as attending parades.

The campaign, backed by a string of celebrities from rugby player Jonny Wilkinson to the singer Jamelia, has been criticised by relatives of some soldiers killed on operations.