One-fifth of Britain's Armed Forces are not fully fit to fight a war as Ministry of Defence reveals 'alarming' figures

One-fifth of Britain's Armed Forces are not fully medically fit to fight a war, the Ministry of Defence has admitted. In the case of the Army, 16,335 soldiers are either medically not deployable or medically limited deployable, out of a total of 71,340 personnel, amounting to 23 per cent of all troops Lord Dannatt, the former head of the Army, described the situation as 'alarming' and said it highlighted the 'absurdly small size of the British Army' The figures were given by defence minister Al Carns in response to a written parliamentary question Those deemed to be medically limited deployable have minor employment limitations - such as a medical condition or functional limitation - that prevents the meeting of all deployability requirements. Some 27,872 personnel across the Armed Forces are deemed either medically limited deployable or medically not deployable out of a total of 127,432, which represents 22 per cent. In the case of the Army, 16,335 soldiers are either medically not deployable or medically limited deployable, out of a total of 71,340 personnel, amounting to 23 per cent of all troops. An MoD spokesperson said: 'The vast majority of our service personnel – around 90 per cent – are deployable at any point, with most of the remaining members of our Armed Forces employed in wider military roles.