Michael Howard accused Tony Blair yesterday of stabbing the men and women of the Armed Forces in the back by announcing cuts in manpower across all three Services. The Conservative leader said that he failed to understand how the cuts could be justified at a time of "growing threats, global instability and new dangers". Promising, if elected to power, to reinstate the four battalions scheduled to be cut under the Government's restructuring of the infantry that was announced in December, Mr Howard also denounced the moves to change the names of famous regiments as part of the decision to amalgamate smaller regiments into larger formations. Under the plans, agreed by the executive committee of the Army Board, the six regiments of the Scottish Division are being reduced to five and converted into one super- regiment, and similar amalgamations are taking place in the King's Division, with two super-regiments, and the Prince of Wales's Division, also with two large regiments."What a stab in the back for the men and women Mr Blair sent into the line of fire," Mr Howard said. "Regiments which are the focus of loyalty, the nurseries of military excellence and potent symbols of pride, are to have their identities casually erased." Speaking after a visit to BAE Systems at Warton, Lancashire, Mr Howard added: "It's probably only a question of time before the crossed swords of the Army's emblem are replaced by Tony Blair's crossed fingers."
Although Mr Howard said that a Conservative Government would "save the regiments being cut by Labour", he did not spell out whether he would reverse the decision of the Army Board to forge a new structure for the infantry. However, he gave a pledge that a Conservative government would save three of the Royal Navy's Type-23 frigates scheduled to be scrapped under Labour's defence programme.
In response, Geoff Hoon, the Defence Secretary, said that the Conservatives' plan to cut spending would affect defence. "The Tories have no credibility on defence when they are committed to cut £35 billion from public spending," he said. "Labour has delivered the largest sustained increases in defence spending for 20 years. When the Tories were last in office, they cut planned defence spending by 15 per cent during 1994-97."