Give troops free parcels, PM urged

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Sir Menzies wrote to Prime Minister Gordon Brown saying that the small change could have an "enormous impact" on the morale of troops serving long postings in war zones. It was "a national disgrace" that soldiers' families had to pay, he said.

But the Ministry of Defence said that research among soldiers on the ground found that most would prefer greater access to telephone and e-mail contact with their family, rather than free parcels.

At present, families have to pay the standard UK postal charge of around £6.50 to send a parcel to an MoD depot in Britain. The MoD then transports the items to Iraq or Afghanistan by military plane and distributes them to troops on the ground, saving the families a proportion of the cost of sending a parcel through the standard postal system, which could come to £20 or more.

But Sir Menzies insisted the service should be offered free.

"It is a national disgrace that the brave young men and women who risk their lives for this country are being taken for granted by this Government," he said.

"Sometimes it is the small straw that breaks the camel's back. Who would have thought that the Ministry of Defence would charge loved ones exorbitant prices for sending care parcels to those in the field? It is a disgrace."

In his letter to Mr Brown, Sir Menzies said making weekly care parcels free would "have an enormous impact on the morale of our armed forces who spend long periods of time away from their families and loved ones" and would be "a practical recognition of the enormous debt which we owe to them".

Defence minister Derek Twigg said: "We go to great lengths to make sure our personnel are well looked after. We constantly ask the troops how we can make life a little bit easier, and time and again they say it's more internet and phone access they want. And that's what they are getting.

"Of course families will also want to send parcels, and that is precisely why we make no charge for carrying them through the military postal system. The only cost to families is the Royal Mail charge for delivering them to our UK depot."