Defence secretary says he hopes ban on women serving in frontline infantry roles will be lifted ‘in next year or so’

The UK defence secretary, Michael Fallon, has announced he wants to end the army’s ban on women serving in frontline infantry roles.

A final decision on the move is subject to research into the long-term impact on women of infantry training, but Fallon said he hoped the ban would be lifted “over the next year or so”.

“Women can fight just as effectively as men,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme. “There’s a small piece of work to be done, but I think army selection should be done on the basis of ability, from now on, and not on the basis of gender.”

Fallon denied that training regimes would be made less tough. “It’s not weakening at all. I think we can improve the way we conduct physical training,” he said.

The minister added: “We have got to make sure that the physical training and the tests involved don’t discriminate against women, but equally don’t damage the operational effectiveness of any unit. We need to make sure that the training is properly adapted to the different physiology of women and we do as much as possible to protect their long-term health and safety.”

Fallon pointed out that women were already deployed on the frontline of the air force and police. “There are women flying fighter bombers at the moment over Iraq and I don’t think it is right now to exclude women from considering any role that they want to apply for … I don’t think it is right to restrict the entry of women into any branch of the armed forces. It has been done already in the frontline for police, for example, where women are serving in firearms units and smashing down doors.”

Fallon’s announcement came after a government-commissioned review recommended that close combat roles should be opened to women, subject to further research into physiological demands.

Chief of the defence staff, General Sir Nicholas Houghton, who led the review, said: “I look forward to the prospect of opening ground close combat roles to women, but we have to look at this in a responsible way.

“Our aim must be to maximise the use of talent without compromising our standards or undermining capability.”

Major Judith Webb, the first woman to command an all-male field force squadron in the British army, expressed caution about the move. “We are physically different. Of course I believe in equality, but as an example from my squadron … there were quite a lot of physical tasks to do every time we deployed on exercise.”

“When we are talking about an infantry section of seven guys and one person who is not actually as physically strong as the other seven, possibly over an extended period of time … That could create an effect on our combat effectiveness.”

Women are currently not allowed to join the ranks of the infantry and armoured corps but serve in a variety of combat roles across the forces.

Major General Patrick Cordingley, a former commander of the 7th Armoured Brigade, known as the “Desert Rats”, said the move would be a mistake”.

He told the Daily Mail: “There is a political imperative. However, I think that it is a mistake from the armed forces.

“I can understand why politically it is a good thing to be seen to be doing – on the other hand, the practicalities of women in the infantry and armoured corps are considerable and should not be overlooked.”

And Colonel Richard Kemp, a former commander in Afghanistan, has previously said women lack the “killer instinct” necessary to fight in close combat.

Kevan Jones, Labour’s shadow armed forces minister, said: “We should be proud of the role played by women in our armed forces.

“Many of them already serve on the frontline as medics, engineers, intelligence officers, fighter pilots and submariners.

“Labour had called for the ban on women serving in combat roles to be examined with a view to it being ended, and any moves towards that are welcome.”