The deal also follows criticisms last week from the family of a Marine killed in Afghanistan that the Government was not properly equipping soldiers. The parents of Gary Wright, who was killed in a 2006 suicide bombing, were responding to evidence that body armour attachments had not been available until after his death.
It was also revealed only last month that plans for a new generation of 'stealth' warships are being drastically scaled back to save cash. The fleet of Type 45 destroyers, which protect other ships from air and missile attack, has been slashed from eight to six.