Britain must pay for tanks, not more troops, the Defence Secretary has said ahead of a major announcement on the military’s plans in response to the invasion of Ukraine.

Ben Wallace said reversing cuts to the size of the Army would have meant sending troops into battle equipped with “pitchforks” instead of high-tech weapons because of the constraints of the defence budget. 

He made the comments ahead of the publication of the Defence Command Paper on Tuesday, which has been updated from its original publication in 2021 in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 

The paper outlines how the military will modernise and adapt to the “changing global picture” as well as prioritise investment in science and technology. 

Mr Wallace previously announced that the number of fully trained soldiers would fall to 73,000 by 2025 – its smallest size ever, down from 82,000. 

He said: “I’m not prepared to cut the Armed Forces by about £5 billion to put on a postcard ‘I’m going to go back to 82,000’.  You’ve got to equip those soldiers with married accommodation, barracks, night sights, helmets, guns, whatever equipment you’re going to give them. 

“If it’s going to be a battle group, are you going to buy 300 armoured vehicles or am I just going to give them a pitchfork? I mean, that’s the choice.”