Army chief: troops paid less than traffic wardens

The head of the British Army has called for a pay rise for troops after it emerged that some soldiers are so hard-up they cannot afford to eat properly.

General Sir Richard Dannatt, the Chief of the General Staff, said that servicemen and women were putting their lives on the line while being paid less than traffic wardens.

Last month an Army briefing paper warned that increasing numbers of soldiers were close to the Government’s definition of poverty, and some were being forced to leave the service because they could not afford to bring up a family on Army wages. In some cases soldiers were having to survive on emergency food vouchers.

“You look to see how much a traffic warden is paid and compare that againstwhat a private soldier gets paid," said Gen Dannatt, while visiting troops in Afghanistan this week.

The prime minister says the government will do "everything in our power" to help members of the armed forces, after criticism of how much they get paid.

Mr Brown said a White Paper would set out the help available to troops in areas such as healthcare and education.

Mr Brown said: "I recognise the huge contribution that our armed forces make to the security of the country and we will continue to try to reward our armed forces for the dedication and commitment they show, often in very difficult theatres of war.

"We will do everything in our power in the years to come to recognise the great individual contribution that is made by all the members of the Army, the navy, and the air force."

He said that the most junior grades received a 9% pay rise last year, "and that is an indication of how we wish to help the people in our armed forces".

The Ministry of Defence said pay was only one element of a soldier's salary, which included allowances for housing, food, tax relief and schooling.

An MoD spokesman said: "In February we announced a pay rise of 2.6% for all servicemen and women, which builds upon last year's award of over 9% for the most junior ranks.