Brown fires back after military row

KAMPALA (Reuters) - Prime Minister Gordon Brown defended his record on Friday after an unprecedented attack by five retired defence chiefs who accused him of neglecting the armed forces and risking soldiers' lives.

The former armed forces heads accused the government of failing to provide the training and equipment needed for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In speeches in the Lords on Thursday, several singled out Brown, who was Chancellor for 10 years before becoming premier in June, for direct, personal criticism.

One said service members thought Brown had treated the forces with "contempt".

Asked about the speeches while on a trip to Africa, Brown said: "I've got nothing but praise for our armed forces. I visited them in Iraq and Afghanistan and what they are doing is some acts of great courage and determination and sacrifice.

"I want to see the armed forces properly equipped with the resources that they need. And that's why every year of this government we've been increasing expenditure on defence."

He said the government was giving the military an additional billion pounds a year for the next five years.

The Ministry of Defence says top serving officers do not share the views of the retired generals and admirals.

The criticism from the retired brass came on the day a report accused the government of selling off the Defence Ministry's research arm too cheaply, letting civil servants who negotiated the deal pocket millions of pounds.

"BLOOD ON THE FLOOR"

Admiral Michael Boyce, who led British forces into Iraq before retiring in 2003, said in his speech there was "blood on the floor" at the Ministry of Defence as officials rushed to slash spending programmes while soldiers fought abroad.

General Charles Guthrie, chief of defence staff from 1997-2001, said Brown was personally to blame for failing to fund the forces during a decade in charge of the treasury.

"He was the most unsympathetic Chancellor of the Exchequer as far as defence is concerned," he said. "I think really he must take much of the blame for the very serious situation we find the services in today."

The ex-chiefs continued their criticism on morning talk shows on Friday. Boyce told BBC television: "The money that defence is given for its budget is not sufficient to meet the level of activities we are currently required to engage in."

Because soldiers lack resources for training, "the first time they see some of their equipment is when they actually go out on their very first operational patrol".

He criticised Brown personally for giving Secretary of State for Defence Des Browne a second job, running Scotland.

"I feel that he has let the armed forces down by not appointing a secretary of state who is full-time. When you've got people who are getting killed and maimed in the service of their government, and you put at the head of the shop someone who is part-time, that sends a very bad message."

Soldiers, sailors and airmen "feel insulted. They feel he is treating them with contempt."

Britain has about 13,000 troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, and thousands more on deployment or training from the Balkans to Belize.

Brown's popularity, already at the lowest level since he took over the prime ministership from Tony Blair in June, has fallen further this week after he acknowledged that officials lost a computer disc with personal bank account details of millions of people.