What the former military chiefs said
Updated on 23 November 2007
Last night the government came under attack in the House of Lords from five former chiefs of the defence staff over funding levels at the ministry of defence.
The chief of defence staff is the head of the UK Armed Forces and the principal military adviser to the government.
We look at who they are and what they said.
Admiral Lord Boyce
Admiral Sir Michael Boyce was chief of defence staff from 16 February 2001 until 2 May 2003.
He said: "The smoke and mirrors work of the government and, in particular the treasury, actually means that the core defence programme has had no effective budget rise at all."
"If we were actually to cut to the truth, we would find it was actually negative, especially if one subtracts the £550m to be spent on the slum accommodation that should have been replaced years ago."
"And this negative budget is why if you go to the Ministry of Defence today you will find blood on the floor as the defence programme is slashed to meet the desperate funding situation."
"We are seriously endangering our people because of the lack of money being given to equip, train and properly support those in the second line preparing to rotate to the frontline."
Lord Inge
Field Marshal Sir Peter Inge was chief of defence staff from14 March 1994 until1 April 1997.
He said: "The three fighting services are about people. They are a priceless asset."
"This is particularly so when they're very heavily committed. Morale is still high in Iraq and Afghanistan but it can go very quickly and they do need to feel that the Government is really behind them."
Lord Inge said, on the decision to make Des Browne both defence and Scottish secretaries, "He is known to some of the military as 'Two-jobs Des'. It is a very bad message to send to the armed forces."
Lord Boyce called it an "insult".
Lord Guthrie
General Sir Charles Guthrie was chief of defence staff from 2 April 1997 until 15 February 2001.
He said of Gordon Brown: "He was the most unsympathetic chancellor of the exchequer, as far as defence was concerned, and was the only senior cabinet minister who avoided coming to the Ministry of Defence to be briefed by our staff about our problems."
"The only time he came to the MoD while I was there, I recall, was when he came to talk about the future of the Rosyth dockyard which was in his constituency."
Lord Craig of Radley
Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir David Craig was chief of defence staff from 9 December 1988 until 1 April 1991.
He asked the question in relation to Iraq: "Is it not immoral to commit forces that are under-prepared and ill-equipped for their task?"
Field Marshal Lord Bramall
Field Marshal Sir Edwin Bramall was chief of defence staff from 1 October 1982 until 31 October 1985.
He said: "The Army is just not large enough to the tune of several thousand men."
"The Government must initiate a surge in what it spends on the armed forces. If there is no surge at all, the situation will get infinitely worse."
