Tory MPs have dismissed Labour calls to give armed forces personnel a "fair" pay increase, claiming it is "not on the list" of concerns.

Labour accused the Government of a "litany of broken promises" over Army pay and recruitment since 2015, as it moved a motion which warned "dissatisfaction with pay" was among the reasons identified by personnel as a reason for leaving.

MPs heard Army numbers have dwindled from more than 100,000 in 2010, to 77,600 this year.

Shadow Defence Secretary Nia Griffith said the starting salary of an Army private had been cut by more than £1,000 in real terms since 2010. She said:

"Is it any wonder, then, that the Government finds itself presiding over a crisis in recruitment and retention?"

But Tory former Defence Minister Anna Soubry was quick to dismiss the suggestion that pay was a concern for personnel.

She said: "I am a former minister in the Ministry of Defence responsible for welfare and I have to say pay was not on the list and it is not on the list of those constituents who serve so well in our armed forces.

"There are other issues we should be debating but not this one when it comes to our armed forces."