Tories' screening pledge to soldiers

As Tory leader David Cameron prepared to face last night's crunch televised showdown with his main rivals, he claimed the armed forces had been "let down" by the Government, which offered them "inadequate support at times of great need".

Under the Tory proposals, which are contained in an "armed forces manifesto" published yesterday, cash would be diverted from Ministry of Defence consultancy budgets to fund a US-style compulsory assessment for everyone leaving the services.

Early diagnosis and treatment of conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) had been proved in other countries to help veterans of the frontline avoid more serious problems later in life, officials said.

And they also proposed setting up a taxpayer-funded unit to deliver initial treatment for PTSD at a cost of 7m a year, which would be more than made up in reduced NHS costs in future.

The document also explicitly criticised Prime Minister Gordon Brown for what it said were his visits to members of the armed forces in war zones "to publicise Labour's party political agenda".

It also hit out at the Liberal Democrats' "weak and irresponsible" stance on the Trident nuclear deterrent.

In a foreword to the document, Mr Cameron renewed his attacks on Gordon Brown over his handling of the armed forces, particularly over equipment for Afghanistan, saying the troops had been let down.

But Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth said the Tories were "wrong to mislead the public" about Labour's support for the armed forces.

Under Labour defence spending had risen by 10 per cent in real terms compared with real-terms cuts of 20 per cent under the Tories, he claimed.