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London: The armed forces are less ready to deploy troops to the front line to fight a war than at any time on record, as figures show how the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan have damaged recruitment.
Less than half of all military units are able to deploy on operations in an emergency, the lowest number ever recorded by the Ministry of Defence in its annual report.
MPs accused the government of endangering national security and "devastating" the military by fighting on two fronts.
Figures also show that over the past year the army has seen a shortfall of three battalions, or 1,500 recruits, graduating, with only 84 per cent of the target of 9,200 trained soldiers achieved. There was a shortfall of 40 Army officers graduating from Sandhurst.
The report admitted that the military was continuing to operate "above the overall level of concurrent operations" which it was "resourced and structured to sustain".
Way off target
Due to continuous operations in both Iraq and Afghanistan for the past five years, the military admitted it could not respond to tasks that might arise and said it was "impossible" for the Forces to be ready for the full range of contingency operations.
The MoD was consequently unable to meet the Public Service Agreement target for readiness, which states 71 per cent of units should be able to deploy to the frontline.
The number of units experiencing "serious or critical weaknesses" in the ability to deploy has increased to more than 50 per cent in the past quarter - the highest since the measurement began in 2004. While the Armed Forces still had "essential standby capabilities" for non-combat emergencies such as flooding, the ability to take on additional operations was "limited".
The government was attacked by opposition parties over the failings in the MoD's Annual Report and Accounts.
Liam Fox, the Conservatives' shadow defence secretary, said the army was not big enough to meet the government's ever-increasing demands. "This has resulted in an increasingly dangerous national security situation where our Armed Forces are unable to react to the unexpected," he said.
Nick Harvey, the Liberal Democrat's defence spokesman, said the report highlighted the "devastating long-term impact of overstretch" from fighting on two fronts.
This has resulted in an increasingly dangerous national security situation where our Armed Forces are unable to react to the unexpected."
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