British army told to stop non-essential training exercises to save money
The British Army has been ordered to pause non-essential training exercises to manage financial pressures within the Ministry of Defence. While frontline deployment training continues, large-scale live-fire drills in the UK are being cancelled to prioritize capital investment projects.
Why it matters
This highlights the ongoing tension between maintaining military readiness and the fiscal constraints facing the UK government's defense budget.
Image source, Getty Images By Jonathan Beale , Defence correspondent and André Rhoden-Paul Published 4 minutes ago The Army has been told to stop "non-essential" training exercises to save money, according to a defence source.
It will continue to train soldiers preparing to be deployed or on deployments - such as units sent to Estonia, the Falklands or Cyprus.
But units back in the UK and who are not preparing for a specific deployment have been told to cut back on collective training exercises due to financial pressures.
It comes as Prime Minister Andy Burnham faces pressure to increase spending on defence.
The government is increasing defence spending to 2.5% of national income by next year, but is under growing pressure to reach a target of 3% by the end of the decade.
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