Britain almost out of troops, says top general

LONDON: Britain has almost run out of troops to defend the country or fight abroad, a daily reported here on Saturday, citing a highly classified defence document.

Head of the British Army General Sir Richard Dannatt has issued a warning to all senior commanders saying that reinforcements for emergencies or for operations in Iraq or Afghanistan are 'now almost non-existent', 'The Daily Telegraph' reported.

In the memorandum to fellow defence leaders, the Chief of the General Staff confessed that 'we now have almost no capability to react to the unexpected'.

"The undermanned Army now has all its units committed to either training for war in Iraq and Afghanistan, on leave or on operations."

There is just one battalion of 500 troops, known as the Spearhead Lead Element, available in the United Kingdom to be used in an emergency such as major domestic terrorist attack or a rapid deployment in the overseas, according to the secret document.

The country's second back-up unit, called the Airborne Task Force formed around the Parachute Regiment, was unable to fully deploy 'due to shortages in manpower, equipment and stocks'

Moreover, Parachute Regiment officers are concerned that with nearly all their equipment in Afghanistan, they are unable to train properly for future operations.