Soldiers 'should get £6,000 pay rise'

The lowest ranking members of the armed forces should get a pay increase of more than a third, according to the Liberal Democrats.

Yesterday (September 2nd), the party called for a £6,000 pay rise for the most junior army privates, naval ratings and RAF aircraftsmen, to make their pay closer to that of police officers and firefighters.

Former head of the army General Sir Richard Dannatt complained last year that troops made less than traffic wardens.

The Liberal Democrats say that the pay rise would cost £400 million, which is tantamount to one per cent of the defence budget.

Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg condemned the starting salary of £16,681 for some services personnel as a "national disgrace".

He said: "Nobody can put a price on the sacrifices our troops make. We can't continue to reward the bravery of lions with peanuts."

Mr Clegg claimed that by cutting 10,000 defence "desk jobs", the pay rise could be achieved as there was one desk job for every two service personnel.

According to the Daily Telegraph, more than 20,000 personnel left the forces last year, with many citing the poor salary as their reason.