Army blasted for £72 million advertising spend while making troops redundant
By Sunday Post Reporter
March 6, 2016, 12:01 am
(Getty Images)
A Sunday Post investigation has revealed the amount the Ministry of Defence has spent on adverts more than doubled in a year.
Among the huge sums spent was £1.4m handed to social media giant Facebook and £186,000 it spent with Twitter.
Stuart Crawford, a former lieutenant colonel who spent 20 years in the Army, said: “The fact they are having to spend so much suggests the military is not seen as a good career move at the moment.
“One reason is unemployment being down in the civilian world. Secondly, the record and effect from Iraq and Afghanistan remains. On TV there are still images of people with no legs so it’s seen as a dangerous option.
“Thirdly, the Armed Forces is not seen as an industry that is growing.”
An MoD spokesperson said it wouldn’t apologise for trying to get soldiers to defend Britain and said social media advertising was a cost-effective way of recruiting.
