Call to refocus defence spending

Think tank Demos said the needs of servicemen and women were too low on the list of priorities and warned their "covenant" with the state had been "damaged almost beyond repair".

"Without service men and women who are well trained, highly motivated and willing to serve, there is no future for our armed forces," it said.

"We believe that while high-tech equipment is important more attention and resources should be channelled to the human dimension of armed forces."

The report also called for more concentration on defending the UK from terrorism and natural disaster, rather than overseas expeditions with "contestable" benefits to homeland security.

Criticism of the Government's treatment of armed forces personnel has escalated in recent months, with the levels of compensation payments to the wounded the latest controversy.

Standards of accommodation, medical treatment of those injured and suffering mental illness and support for bereaved families have also come under attack.

The report said: "Defence planners have been preoccupied with the acquisition of expensive, high-tech military equipment, which has diverted resources away from where they are really needed in the defence structure - specifically in areas such as pay and terms and conditions of service, recruitment and training, and the welfare support (including housing) of the armed forces."

It went on: "The Military Covenant - the contract between the nation and service personnel and their families who make personal sacrifices in return for fair treatment and commensurate terms and conditions of service - has been damaged almost beyond repair."

It said there needed to be a new "civil military compact" to restore the Covenant and extend it to all three branches of the armed forces.