Two million United Kingdom public service workers including the Armed Forces are reportedly set to be given a £2 billion pay rise. The Times reports that soldiers will receive an increase of 2.9%, while police officers and dentists/consultants will both receive a 2.5% pay rise.
Sodexo has extended its contracts with the Ministry of Defense (MoD) to provide a range of support services to the UK’s Armed Forces in Cyprus and the Falkland Islands for a further three years.
Foreign nationals will be eligible to join the UK armed forces in greater numbers, ministers will announce, as British residency requirements for service are set to be scrapped. The Ministry of Defense will remove the need for Commonwealth citizens to have lived in the UK for five years before applying for service.
The Federal Prosecution Office from Rio Grande, Tierra del Fuego has called for the arrest of 26 officers allegedly involved in torture practices against conscripts during the Falklands conflict in 1982. The case has been ongoing for over a decade but it remains at snail pace.
The Royal Navy’s new aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth arrived in Gibraltar for her first overseas port visit. As she sailed into port under close security escort, UK Defense Secretary Gavin Williamson highlighted the Rock’s strategic role for UK military operations.
The Queen has given her formal approval to the appointment of His Royal Highness Prince Henry of Wales as Captain General Royal Marines. Prince Harry will assume the role in succession to HRH The Duke of Edinburgh.
UK Minister for the Armed Forces said that a very, very long and continued presence in Gibraltar, with no defense cuts for the foreseeable future and full support of sovereignty were the key ingredients in the UK message he brought to the Rock. Before meeting Gibraltar authorities the minister took a tour of British Gibraltar waters with the Royal Navy.
A Scotland analysis paper on Defense, published on Tuesday, highlights the extent to which an independent Scotland would no longer benefit from the £34 billion annual UK defense budget, one of the largest in the world.
UK’s Defence Secretary Philip Hammond announced that 17 units are to be axed from the British army as part of sweeping reforms that will reduce its overall strength by 20.000 posts.
As part of the UK Armed Forces Redundancy Program, and following on from the Army and the RAF earlier this month, on Friday the Royal Navy begun notifying personnel selected for redundancy in Tranche 1 of the program.