UK:British prime minister Gordon Brown yesterday hit back at claims by former UK defence chiefs that he had treated the armed forces with contempt, saying he had nothing but respect for British soldiers.
The prime minister, ambushed by five former defence chiefs in the House of Lords in London while on the way to the Commonwealth summit in Uganda, hinted at his private sense of anger with them by saying he had a duty not just to defence, but to other public services.
He also said he had spent more on defence than the Conservatives.
"While there is a legitimate debate to be had about whether there should be more money in this area or that, what we are trying to do is fund our public services in the way that we want to build the best public services for the future," he said.
When he was chancellor, Mr Brown was seen by defence chiefs as a difficult negotiator, unlike Tony Blair; but his aides, in turn, believe some of the former defence chiefs are not in line with officials such as Gen Richard Dannatt, the current chief of the UK defence staff.
Mr Brown is to outline the government's strategy towards Afghanistan in the next few weeks, and will also produce an overview on the military covenant in the new year.
"I have got nothing but praise for the armed forces. I have visited them in Afghanistan and Iraq, and have seen their great acts of courage, determination and sacrifice," he said yesterday.
"In every year of this government we have been increasing expenditure on defence compared with the cuts that took place under the previous government. That is why the defence settlement this year provides £1 billion a year every year for the next few years."
Admiral Lord Boyce, a former chief of defence staff who said there was "blood on the floor" at the UK ministry of defence because of the cutbacks, accused Mr Brown yesterday of treating the armed forces with "contempt" by allowing Des Browne to continue as both defence and Scottish secretary.
"I feel that he has let the armed forces down by not appointing a secretary of state who is full-time," Lord Boyce said.
Conservative leader David Cameron wrote to the prime minister reinforcing Lord Boyce's complaint.
But Mr Browne told BBC radio: "I think what sends a message to people who are putting their lives on the line is the answer to the question: do their ministers show the level of commitment, do they show the level of delivery that is necessary to support them?
"I would put my record both in relation to commitment and delivery up against anyone's. The amount of time that [ the job of Scottish secretary] takes comes out of what was my private life, my family's life and my constituents' time."
Mr Browne's team said yesterday he worked every day, regularly starting at 6.30am in the week and continuing until 10pm or 11pm. There was no strict division of his timetable and David Cairns, the minister of state for Scotland, took on much of the load, one ally said.
Mr Browne's only regular relaxation was watching Celtic and he had just one week off in the summer.
In 18 months as defence secretary he has visited Iraq seven times and Afghanistan four times. - (Guardian service)