Army head downplays equipment issue

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In direct contrast with the man he will be replacing as Chief of the General Staff, General Sir David Richards said he would not be presenting the Government with a "shopping list" of kit.

Current army chief General Sir Richard Dannatt vowed to do just that amid mounting British casualties and controversy over the adequacy of equipment such as armoured trucks and helicopters last month.

In an interview with The Times, General Richards said: "It is impossible to say whether having more equipment of a particular kind would lead to less casualties, and pretty fruitless speculating about it.

"The enemy's tactics will always reflect, and try to exploit, how we operate - my American comrades first taught me the adage, 'The enemy has a vote' - and our own tactics must reflect the equipment and troop numbers we have.

"It is a truism to state that the more we have, the more we can do."

Asked if he would be presenting a "shopping list" for military equipment on his first day in office, the general answered: "I will not."

But he said the Army and the Government needed to ensure "we continue to respond flexibly and quickly to the evolving requirements of our campaign in Afghanistan."

The 57-year-old, who calls himself a "seat-of-the-pants soldier", was commander of Nato's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghan capital Kabul in 2006.

That made him the first British officer to command American forces since the Second World War. He takes over as CGS on August 28, and he will hold the post for three years.