Lifting the ban on women in combat roles will "drag our infantry to far below the required standard" and put people at greater risk of dying, according to a former SAS commander.

"The infantry is no place for a woman, and to permit them to serve in close combat roles is a pure politically correct extravagance," Colonel Tim Collins has said, following David Cameron's announcement on Friday that women will be allowed to perform combat roles in the army.

He added: "No one pretends that allowing women onto the front line enhances the army’s capabilities."

Citing a report by the US Marine Corps from 2015, he added that having women in the armed forces would be more likely "cost lives on the battlefield".

But Hannah Bryce, from the Royal Institute of International Affairs, has said having women in the roles would make the army “more operationally effective", as well as more reflective of society.

"Wars are not just fought by men, and do not just affect men,” she told the BBC, “the battleground has already moved from the remote frontlines of 20th Century warfare to a more urban environment and as a result is influenced by all society and not just military personnel.

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"The armed forces need women in all military roles if they are to understand and influence events on the battlefield and beyond.

She continued: "This is not just about fairness, but about winning."

Women are currently able to fill 80 per cent of jobs in the armed forces and make up more than 10 per cent of the work force.

One test involved in joining the infantry is completing an eight-mile march in less than two hours, while carrying 25kg. The army's reseach suggests less than 5 per cent of 7,000 female recruits would currently pass the physical tests.

Writing in the Telegraph, Colonel Collins' comments come after the findings of the Chilcot inquiry, which condemned both the government and the British Army for their failures in Iraq.

The former soldier said: "The physical bar for joining [close combat] units may need to be raised, never lowered."

Army Photographic Competition 2015 winners Show all 20 1 /20 Army Photographic Competition 2015 winners Army Photographic Competition 2015 winners Winner of the Professional Op Herrick Portfolio category An air insertion operation mounted by British soldiers and Afghan police, re-establishing government control in an area of Helmand province, Afghanistan Sgt Rupert Frere Army Photographic Competition 2015 winners Best Overall Professional Army PR Image Former Garrison Sergeant Major, The Household Division and London District, WO1 William Mott OBE MVO inspecting Nijmegen Company Grenadier Guards. The photo is titled 'How can you forget to shave?' Sgt Rupert Frere Army Photographic Competition 2015 winners Winner of the Professional Portrait category Sergeant John S Kabia from the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF) at a camp in Kono, Sierra Leone during the Ebola outbreak Paul Shaw ABIPP Army Photographic Competition 2015 winners Winner of the Amateur Portrait category Cpl Dave Johns holding a photograph of his eldest son who in turn is holding a picture of his younger brother. The photo is titled 'Me and my boys' Pte Rebecca Brown Army Photographic Competition 2015 winners Best Overall Professional Op Herrick Image Private John Mitchell resting after patrolling through the night in the Upper Sangin Valley, Afghanistan. The photo is titled 'Black Watch' Sgt Rupert Frere Army Photographic Competition 2015 winners Winner of the Professional Op Herrick Portfolio category Cpl Carl Hines of the Royal Artillery providing covering fire while members of 4 Brigade Reconnaissance Force cross open ground in Lashkar Gah, Afghanistan Sgt Rupert Frere Army Photographic Competition 2015 winners Winner of the Professional Op Herrick Portfolio category Soldiers serving with 16 Air Assault Brigade seated on a Royal Air Force C17 for the final leg of their journey to Afghanistan Sgt Rupert Frere Army Photographic Competition 2015 winners Winner of the Professional Op Herrick Portfolio category Members of 2nd Battalion The Parachute Regiment resting in a secure compound while on patrol around Char Coucha village near Lashkar Gah, Afghanistan Sgt Rupert Frere Army Photographic Competition 2015 winners Winner of the Professional Op Herrick Portfolio category The US Army's 502nd Regiment supplying fire support for 5 Armoured Engineer Squadron, Royal Engineers during Operation HAMKARI in Afghanistan Sgt Rupert Frere Army Photographic Competition 2015 winners Winner Britain's soldiers at work. The photo is titled 'Mortar at Night' Cpl James McAllister Army Photographic Competition 2015 winners Winner of the Professional Sport category The King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery has left the noise and confines of London for equestrian and military training in the rural West Country. Enjoying the best of the Indian Summer in Cornwall, twelve horses and riders from Centre Section left their temporary stables in RAF St Mawgan just after dawn this morning to take to the surf on Watergate Bay Beach. The photo is titled 'Surf's Up' Sgt Rupert Frere Army Photographic Competition 2015 winners Winner Soldiers at work. The photo is titled 'Sitrep' LCpl Paul-Rui Penu Army Photographic Competition 2015 winners Winner in the Professional Portfolio category, 2nd Place One of the ceremonial horses involved in the parade and a Grenadier Guard in the stables before the Colonels Review. Photo is titled 'Ceremonial Selfie' Cpl Jamie Peters Army Photographic Competition 2015 winners Winner Sergeant Richard McKinnon a Royal Logistic Corp Bomb disposal expert checks the fuse on the World War II era SC 250kg German Bomb. The photo is titled 'Bombs Away' Sgt Rupert Frere Army Photographic Competition 2015 winners Winner This is taken on a Civilian Aircraft, taking Troops from Aldergrove Airfield in Northern Ireland on their first leg of the long trip to southern Afghanistan at the beginning of op Herrick 10. The photo is titled 'Here I go again' Sgt Rupert Frere Army Photographic Competition 2015 winners Runner Up in Best Professional Op Herrick Portfolio category Ranger Pete Mawhinney returns fire, with his General Purpose Machine Gun, after Taliban attempt to ambush his patrol Sgt Rupert Frere Army Photographic Competition 2015 winners Winner in the Professional Op Herrick Portfolio, 2nd Place Corporal Calum Cooper Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, 5th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland talks to local children while he carries out searches on compounds. Photo is titled 'Kids' Sgt Rupert Frere Army Photographic Competition 2015 winners Winner in the Professional Soldiering category British Army Short Term Training Team (STTT) deliver training to the Ukrainian military Corporal Tom Evans Army Photographic Competition 2015 winners Best Overall Professional Op Herrick Image, Highly Commended Boy soldier, Fusilier John Bryant. an 18 year old soldier from A Company, The Royal Highland Fusiliers, 2nd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland. In the muddy compound where he lives the 18 year old soldiers patrol on the front line in Helmand Province Afghanistan. The photo is titled 'Boy Soldier' Sgt Rupert Frere Army Photographic Competition 2015 winners Winner in the Professional Op Herrick Portfolio category, 2nd Place The photo is titled 'Re Supply' Sgt Rupert Frere

He added: "We cannot tolerate... any attempt to play politics or mount social experiments with the armed forces."