Troops have not been betrayed by us, insists Armed Forces minister

Armed Forces minister Nick Harvey today vehemently denied a claim that the Government has broken a promise to troops.

He insisted suggestions the military covenant was not being written into law were unfair, and said soldiers, sailors and airmen should not feel betrayed by the Lib-Con coalition.

It follows a claim by Chris Simpkins, head of the Royal British Legion, of a U-turn by David Cameron over the covenant - the state's responsibilities to its Armed Forces - which the Prime Minister pledged would be rewritten and enshrined in law.

Mr Simpkins said the proposals had been "significantly watered down to a point where we can't entirely support them". He said plans for the Government to publish an annual report on the covenant - to be included in the Armed Forces Bill - had "no force in law". He added: "We believe the Armed Forces families are being let down."

Mr Harvey said: "We said we would enshrine this in law and that's what we are doing. For the first time we will define the covenant and say what it means and there will be a secretary of state for defence report annually on how we think we are fulfilling that covenant. I'm very sorry if anybody feels betrayed. They shouldn't."

The Government faced further pressure as the Army Families Federation said nearly 80 per cent of soldiers had considered leaving the services because of cuts.