Stop short changing our troops- Mackintosh

10.28.39pm BST (GMT +0100) Sun 13th Sep 2009

Liberal Democrat Westminster Spokesman for Edinburgh South Fred Mackintosh has slammed the Labour Government for failing to adequately reward soldiers who are expected to risk their lives defending their country.

Over 51,000 of the UK's soldiers (over a quarter of the armed forces) are paid less than a new recruit police constable or fire-fighter. The basic pay for the lowest paid Private is only £16,681 and more than 40% of troops in the lower ranks are unhappy with their pay.

Fred Mackintosh said "Nobody can put a price on the sacrifices made by our Armed Forces, but recent operations in Afghanistan and Iraq have revealed the disparity between what we expect of our soldiers and how they are rewarded. There is widespread dissatisfaction on pay among the lower ranks which has a dreadful affect on both moral and retention.

"You cannot reward lions with peanuts, it time to stop short changing our troops."