ConDem Clegg All At Sea

Remeber the General Election debates? Clegg talked of 'The Armed Forces are also top heavy, with too many senior officers. Following the end of the Cold War the numbers of lower rank soldiers fell dramatically. But the axe did not fall so hard on the top brass. There are now more Brigadiers than there were in 1997 - 17 of them for every combat Brigade. The Navy has almost two admirals for every warship. The Armed Forces do not need so many senior officers.'?

But instead of reducing the number of admirals they are increasing the number of ships, though we cant afford planes for the aircraft carriers.

Apparently Clegg was not even telling the truth about the number of admirals. The Royal Navy was unable to respond during election purdah, so facts have emerged afterwards.

There are some 36 flag and general officers in the Naval Service all told, of whom thirty are admirals and six are Royal Marines major-generals. Of this number, 20 admirals and two generals are in dedicated naval or marine posts, and only two hold the four-star rank of a full admiral. Ten admirals and generals are in tri-service defence posts, most of which are open to army generals and air marshals by competition, and another four are in NATO posts. Of the eight vice-admirals on the active list, half are in NATO or tri-service appointments, such as Surgeon Vice-Admiral Philip Raffaelli who succeeded an army officer as Surgeon-General in December.

As well as the Fleet Air Arm, there are some 80 ships and submarines all told, some of which are in refit or reserve. So, nothing like the 150 or so admirals that Nick Clegg claims.

Opps he did it again.