Women can now apply to join special forces units including the Special Air Service (SAS), after all roles in the armed forces were opened up to female recruits.

Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson announced yesterday that all roles in the British Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force, including frontline infantry units, are now open to female recruits as he paid tribute to “the phenomenal” women already serving in the military.

Confirming that female soldiers are now eligible to serve in elite special forces units, he said that for the first time the “armed forces will be determined by ability alone and not gender”.

Speaking during a firepower demonstration on Salisbury Plain, which saw elements of the British Army 3rd Division deploy Challenger 2 tanks as Apache helicopters and Tornado jets flew overhead, Mr Williamson said that women already serving in the army will now able to transfer into infantry roles if they wish, while new female recruits will be able to apply for infantry roles in December of this year.

Mr Williamson told the Daily Telegraph that "every single role in our armed forces will be open to women" and said that he and senior officers expected to see women applying for roles with the SAS and other special forces units.