Britain to axe 700 of military8217;s top brass: report

The swingeing cuts detailed in the document,which was sent to senior officials last month,is part of a review by Jonathan Slater,the MoD director general of transformation and strategy,the newspaper said.

8220;The simple truth is that the defence senior cadre is larger than we can afford,is judged to be out of proportion with a reducing manpower base and also with modern working practices and societal tolerances.

8220;The perception,both within and beyond the department,that defence is bureaucratic and top heavy must be addressed.

It undermines the confidence of our own staff,parliament,the public and media,and has a detrimental impact on the delivery of frontline and other defence outputs,8221; the documents says.

The document points out that the number of the most senior officers with a one star rank or above has risen by a third since 1990. It adds that the army,Royal Navy and Royal Air Force,will all have to identify the posts that could be filled by civilians,rather than military personnel.

8220;The current redundancy programme will reduce the number of Service Personnel both officers and non-commissioned ranks to ensure the Armed Forces are structured to best meet current and emerging threats,8221; a MoD spokesman said.