Cameron on the defensive

The Conservative leader’s sincerity, however, contrasts with his failure to honour the pre-election commitments that he made to the Armed Forces – a failure that was exposed by the Royal British Legion yesterday as Chris Simpkins, its respected director-general, revealed the impact of the Government’s cuts on service personnel and their forever supportive families.

Having promised to enshrine the military covenant into law – a promise that Mr Cameron made in response to stories about ill-equipped soldiers fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan – the coalition now intend to water down this commitment and, instead, instruct the Defence Secretary to present an annual report to Parliament.

The Royal British Legion has every right to be appalled. And so, too, will all those families, the length and breadth of the country, who support the Armed Forces – and who are so proud of the heroism that service personnel demonstrate so frequently. Annual statements are a misnomer. Tony Blair embarked upon such an exercise at the outset of his premiership when New Labour was in its pomp. He soon put a halt to it when it became politically inconvenient and embarrassing. Such exercises are no substitute for robust legislation that measures a government’s support for the military.

It was also remiss of the Lib Dem defence minister, Nick Harvey, to blame spending cuts for his department’s climbdown. An experienced politician, he – just like Mr Cameron – would have been acutely aware of the financial constraints when pre-election promises were being rattled out.

More pertinently, this episode gives further credence to those who believe that politicians frequently exploit the public’s ensuring goodwill towards the Armed Forces to suit their own purposes. If Mr Cameron wants to avoid such criticism, he should place the military covenant on a formal legal footing at the first available opportunity.