Concern over Army reservists

They accused the Ministry of Defence of acting too slowly to end a practice it had know about since 2004 and demanded immediate action to ensure it was stopped.

The call from the Public Accounts Committee followed complaints from military commanders in Iraq that some reservists were not up to the required physical standards for the job. Its Tory chairman Edward Leigh said the MoD was "alarmingly ill-informed about the extent to which reservists are fit enough to deal with the rigours of front line service".

And he warned they were still being treated as "second class" troops, getting inadequate training and slow medical treatment despite facing far more frequent front-line action.

More than 12,000 reservists have served in Iraq since 2003 - and five have died on operations - with severely stretched regular forces sometimes hard-pressed to work without them. The MoD is piloting a new system to enforce minimum health and fitness standards in the TA - with trials due to finish in November.

But the MPs said that was too slow and demanded interim measures and "creative" solutions "for example by introducing a fixed-term probation period prior to full membership allowing applicants time to reach the necessary levels of fitness and negotiating reduced-rate gym membership".

The report also called for data on reservists evacuated from action zones as well as reports from commanders on the ground to be properly examined to assess whether reservists were fit for action. More training was needed alongside regular forces and using proper equipment in readiness for frontline service, it said, noting that Navy reservists "rarely go to sea".

And it said the MoD needed to "speed up the diagnosis and treatment of physical injuries sustained on operations" in line with recent improvements made for those suffering mental illness.

Mr Leigh said: "The Ministry of Defence cannot have it both ways. As the regular forces become more stretched, the MoD is increasingly relying on the men and women of the reserve forces to step in, with over 12,000 having served in Iraq alone. At the same time, the MoD is not giving them the training and support they need to serve effectively alongside their regular counterparts. And shortfalls in numbers need addressing.

"You cannot treat reservists as second-class members of the Armed Forces while demanding a first-class job from them."