A classified internal report seen by the Daily Mail has found the British Army is operating at 135 per cent of capacity, with officers warning that chronic understaffing and rising commitments are "breaking our people" and endangering troops' welfare. The investigation was launched following the suicide of Major Nic Coles, 36, a rising star officer found dead in 2023 after an inquest heard he had been overworked and feared that seeking help would harm his career; the review found similar pressures of "too much work and too few people" widespread across the Army. The findings come as Chancellor John Healey faces criticism for shelving a pledge to raise defence spending to 3 per cent of GDP by 2030, a target he championed when he resigned as Defence Secretary, amid warnings from Nato of an increasingly volatile security situation.

The Army's trained strength currently stands at 70,759, nearly 40,000 fewer than in 2000, and is 3 per cent below its own target; the Navy and RAF are 7 per cent and 12 per cent short respectively. Raising defence spending to 3 per cent of GDP by 2030 would cost an extra £10billion a year, rising to £25billion annually to hit Nato's 3.5 per cent target by 2035, but Treasury sources say the 3 per cent goal has been dropped due to financial constraints, with any future funding boost likely to prioritise equipment over personnel. Former SAS commander Richard Williams branded Healey a "lizard" for abandoning the commitment, while officers quoted in the report questioned when the military would "learn to operate within workforce capability and availability."