Renewed calls over military funding

Admiral Lord Boyce said Mr Brown should recognise that the armed forces are over-committed and that he should take steps to ensure they are properly resourced.

Lord Boyce was one of five former chiefs of defence staff who complained last month that the decision to make Des Browne Scotland Secretary as well as Defence Secretary was an "insult" to forces.

Speaking to the Kent on Sunday newspaper, Lord Boyce returned to the warpath and said the decision not to have a full-time Defence Secretary was viewed by troops as showing a "complete lack of judgment".

"That's felt very strongly in particular by the people who are fighting wars in Afghanistan and Iraq," he said. "Their lives are in danger, they see some of their friends being killed or maimed and they look to the top and they see a person who's only part-time."

On funding, Lord Boyce said: "The defence slice of the country's budget has got smaller over the last years. As that's gone down, our levels of activity have gone up and there's clearly a huge imbalance."

Lord Boyce added: "What (Mr Brown) needs to do is recognise the fact that at the moment the forces are over-committed and he needs to make sure they're properly resourced. Somehow that message has got to be drilled in."

And he voiced concern that the war in Afghanistan would be lost unless other European countries sent reinforcements to support Britain's soldiers.

Meanwhile, Shadow defence secretary Liam Fox launched a withering attack on the Government's treatment of the Royal Navy since they came to power.

Dr Fox said the Navy had been left battered and bloodied after years of cuts and under-funding. Writing in the Sunday Telegraph, he said the implications of the cuts could have an impact on Britain's ability to defend itself in the future.