Military chiefs demand more cash

The UKNDA said UK efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan were being seriously undermined by a lack of money for equipment and personnel.

The body - which lists three former chiefs of staff and a former foreign secretary among its patrons - is calling on ministers to increase the defence budget from 2% of the national income to a minimum of 3%.

It claimed that each of the armed forces had been repeatedly reduced in size and capability to the point that they were now "chronically overstretched for the tasks they have been given".

UKNDA president Winston Churchill, grandson of the Second World War leader, said that inadequate levels of spending were "all too often being paid by men and women of our armed forces in blood," adding that it was a "shameful failure of parliament".

Mr Churchill said: "Twenty five years ago during the Falklands war we were devoting 5% of all we produced as a nation to defence. Today that figure stands at barely 2% yet we are fighting simultaneously the two most intense wars the United Kingdom has been engaged in since Korea. If Parliament continues to call upon its armed forces to engage in wars on multiple fronts, then defence spending must increase to a minimum of 3%."

The UKNDA is urging all people, and especially those with family members or friends serving in the armed forces, to back their campaign.

Patrons of the association include ex-defence chiefs, General Lord Guthrie, Admiral Lord Boyce, Marshal of the RAF Lord Craig and former foreign secretary Lord Owen. Other supporters include ex-MI6 chief Sir Richard Dearlove and Tory MP and Gordon Brown's security adviser Patrick Mercer.

Responding to the launch of UKNDA, a Ministry of Defence spokesman said: "We welcome any initiative that encourages informed debate about the Armed Forces. The UK National Defence Association's supporters include prominent former senior military personnel, including chiefs of staff, and their experience will undoubtedly be invaluable in any such debate.

"The recent Comprehensive Spending Review settlement means an additional £7.7 billion for defence by 2011 - continuing the longest period of sustained real growth in planned defence spending since the 1980s. It is evidence of the Government's commitment to defence and to the men and women who serve with the utmost bravery in our Armed Forces."