UK troops better equipped - Brown

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The equipment available to UK troops in the field is "a lot better" than it has been for years, Gordon Brown has said.

The prime minister told British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) the armed forces deserved "nothing but the best".

Mr Brown said this year's Comprehensive Spending Review guaranteed the Ministry of Defence year-on-year real-terms increases in funding.

The government has faced persistent accusations that the military is under-resourced and that morale is low.

Last month, Lord Guthrie, who served as Chief of the Defence Staff under Labour and the Conservatives, said Mr Brown had been "unsympathetic" to the armed forces throughout his 10 years as chancellor.

'Totally unfair'

Other leading former military figures criticised his decision to give Defence Secretary Des Browne the additional role of Scottish secretary.

The Tories say this effectively makes the job "part-time".

But Mr Brown told BFBS it was "totally unfair" to question his commitment to the armed forces.

He also said: "Over the last few years, despite difficult circumstances... we have tried our best not only to give decent settlements so that there is the money to do everything necessary, but also where there is an urgent operational requirement we changed the system a year or two ago so that the equipment can get there more quickly...

"I think the evidence on the ground is that the equipment people have is a lot better than it was a few years ago. Of course, we want it to be even better in future years as well."

Mr Brown said he was responding to pleas from troops in Iraq and Afghanistan for more armoured vehicles to provide protection against landmines, as well as more helicopters, which he acknowledged were currently a "weakness".

He pointed to a "huge programme" of spending on hardware, including new aircraft carriers, and infrastructure to support servicemen and women.

Troops in the field had benefited from a new £2,300 Operational Allowance, council tax reductions and better access to email and telephones, while £5bn was being spent on armed forces accommodation in the UK.

'Dedicated'

Pay settlements were in many cases "higher than public sector pay at home, and rightly so", Mr Brown said.

Britain's servicemen and women were "so dedicated that they deserve nothing but the best," said the prime minister, adding: "I want it to be the best that they have, in terms of equipment."

But he warned: "You never get everything you want when you are negotiating, on one side or the other, and there is always an issue to be resolved.

"It will always be the case, if there is a discussion about more or less, I would expect - and respect - people who say 'We need this or that'.

"The question is, given all the other responsibilities we have - the health service, education - and given the danger our troops face, are we making the right provision?"

Mr Brown said that Britain owed a "special debt of gratitude" over the Christmas period to armed forces personnel serving their country away from home and family.