Roughly 7,500 personnel quit the military in 2017, equivalent to 5.6 per cent

A review of the armed forces’ retention crisis has been ordered by the prime minister to stem the flow of thousands quitting each year.

Theresa May’s top military adviser has commissioned Mark Francois, a former defence minister and member of the Commons defence select committee, to lead a report into the problem, which is compounding the forces’ personnel shortage.

It comes after 5.6 per cent — 7,500 personnel — quit the military in 2017, the latest year for which there are official figures, up from 3.8 per cent in 2010.

The trend correlates with a decreasing proportion of personnel recording satisfaction with service life: from 60 per cent in 2010 to 41 per cent last year, according to the annual armed forces continuous attitude survey.