Best news day

The Armed Forces missed out on major training exercises this year because of cutbacks that changed the focus of the military to the counterinsurgency campaign in Afghanistan.

One of the exercises, Bold Avenger 09, was one of the largest of its kind. It was supposed to have included RAF aircraft but Britain withdrew from the programme.

The 11 other Nato powers that took part included the United States, Denmark, Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Norway and Turkey. A total of 50 aircraft were involved in the exercise, which included live firing at a range in Denmark.

The list of 38 regular forces exercises and 18 Territorial Army exercises cancelled included: Snow Falcon, which was due to have taken place in the Arctic in Norway; Batus Run, which involved live firing at a large military base in Canada; and Sheldrake Spear, in Germany.

After The Times revealed in October that all training for the TA had been stopped for six months to save £20 million, the Government was swamped with complaints, and the decision was reversed.

The release of information about the latest scrapped training exercises came in a written Commons answer to the Conservatives. MPs warned of the long-term damage the cuts would have on the skills and capabilities of the Armed Forces. The Ministry of Defence was unable to say how much money would be saved.

The MoD insisted that none of the cancelled exercises would affect operational training for Afghanistan.

However, Patrick Mercer, the Conservative MP for Newark and a former infantry battalion commanding officer, said: “Any reduction in training means a deterioration of basic skills that will always be necessary for Afghanistan or for whatever lies ahead on the horizon.

“Training is the bedrock of operational success. As it is said, you train hard and fight easy.” The TA, in particular, needed to carry out low-level tactical training to consolidate skills, he said.

With the prospect of next year’s strategic defence review leading to cuts in the defence budget, the number of training exercises could be reduced further. The MoD has saved money on exercises in previous years. In 2007, 61 were cancelled, of which 16 were due to operational commitments, 36 to changing priorities and the remaining nine for other reasons.

Last year 58, nearly 10 per cent of the planned exercises, were cancelled — four because of operational commitments, 20 due to changing priorities and the remaining 34 for other reasons.

The MoD announced a series of cuts last week to try to balance the current financial year’s defence budget. These include the early axing of the RAF’s fleet of 11 Nimrod MR2 surveillance aircraft and the disbandment of a Harrier squadron.

Liam Fox, the Shadow Defence Secretary, said: “This list [of cancelled training exercises] shows that cuts were going on before the Secretary of State outlined his programme of cuts.

“The Government must reassure the Armed Forces that these cuts will not have any impact on their readiness for current operations, or to respond to the unexpected.”

Bill Rammell, the Armed Forces Minister, said: “To date, 9 per cent of programmed training exercises have been cancelled in 2009. Exercises may be cancelled for a variety of reasons, including effectiveness of delivery, value for money, international policy dimensions and circumstances, operational constraints and focus on current operations.”