The UK Chancellor Alistair Darling has announced the availability of an extra £2bn to fund operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Announced in the chancellor’s first budget, the funding will come from the Treasury’s contingency reserve, rather than the Ministry of Defence budget.

It will include around £900m to be spent on military equipment including body armour and armoured vehicles, with the rest to be spent on frontline troop bonuses and extra running costs of ammunition and repairs.

By staff writer