Thousands of soldiers who have just returned from Afghanistan could face a 10 per cent pay cut as the Ministry of Defence looks to save as much as £4million.

Thousands of soldiers who have just returned from Afghanistan could face a 10 per cent pay cut as the Ministry of Defence looks to save as much as £4million.

Army chiefs want to cut the number of soldiers in the Parachute Regiment who receive a £2,000-a-year supplement.

Known as the Para Pay bonus, the £180-a-month supplement is paid to all members of the Armed Forces who are trained to parachute.


Hard hit: Men from the 3rd Battalion Parachute Regiment are among those who will be affected by cutting the Para pay bonus

Currently all members of the Parachute Regiment’s 16 Air Assault Brigade learn how to parachute, including engineers, artillery experts and medics, as well as soldiers.
It means 4,756 soldiers currently get the supplement because of the specialist training, but the MoD wants to cut that number so they can avoid paying the bonus.
The wage cut has already been agreed by army chiefs, but the number of soldiers it is likely to affect has not been decided.
However, some sources have suggested as many as 4,000 could lose the bonus, hitting privates who earn little more than £12,000 a year after tax the hardest.
The MoD is struggling to tackle a £1billion a year budget deficit. In February, military chiefs used email to sack front-line soldiers, and then warned thousands of personnel they may be made redundant – giving them the news while they were on tour in Afghanistan.
Parachute training for members of other regiments is also expected to be cut, including the Royal Engineers, Royal Logistic Corps, Royal Artillery and medics.
An MoD spokesman said last night: 'It is likely that the majority of Parachute Regiment soldiers will remain fully trained to parachute ... [and] will continue to receive specialist pay.
'Personnel will be informed as soon as these plans have been finalised.'