THE Ministry of Defence has been forced onto the back foot once more over plans to fast-track redundancies.

Civil servants rushed to deny weekend reports that 8,000 British soldiers will be told they are no longer required – days after Christmas.

But the denials were half-hearted. A spokeswoman said no firm decision had been taken on the timing.

Ominously, she added: “We aim to remove uncertainty for Army personnel and their families as soon as possible.”

The best the MoD can offer is an assurance that soldiers about to deploy to Afghanistan will be safe from the chop. No redundancy notices will be posted to Camp Bastion.

But what of the soldiers who have just returned from the front line?

They may have seen their friends killed or injured while putting their lives on the line for Queen and country, but no one will think twice about telling them their career is over.

The Government announced last year that the Army’s strength will be reduced by a fifth to 82,000 by the end of the decade.

The damage being inflicted on the morale of the Armed Forces by these cuts is far worse than anything the Taliban has achieved in 11 years of fighting.

Some of our best soldiers have no idea if they will still have a job in 12 months’ time.

The next letter they receive could be a P45.

The pen-pushers responsible could not run a Scout troop – let alone an army.