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There is no shortage of operations but, because we have a parliament dominated by weak, centrist politicians who never stand up for the military

Recruitment is in crisis because of job insecurity and “lack of operations”, according to military sources.

Figures released last week showed the Army stands at 79,590, far below the already reduced troop number of 82,000, with that figure expected to fall further.

The former Commando engineer said the elite forces are being used in roles traditionally left to regular troops because they can be deployed discreetly without parliamentary debate.

Mr Hookem, a former commando, said: 'They [government] take what they view as the easy option'

Mr Hookem said: “There is no shortage of operations but, because we have a parliament dominated by weak, centrist politicians who never stand up for the military... They take what they view as ‘the easy option’.”

In May it was revealed that special forces were engaged in front line combat with Isis in Libya, but this should not have been so contentious that regular forces could not be used, he said.

There is no shortage of operations but, because we have a parliament dominated by weak, centrist politicians who never stand up for the militaryA Ministry of Defence spokesman said: “Our Armed Forces are currently deployed on over 20 operations across the world, twice as many as in 2010. They are working in 25 countries.”