Promotion block for senior navy officers

Promotions for senior Royal Navy officers are to be frozen for five years.

Reports says all promotions to the rank of lieutenant commander and above will be halted for five years.

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The Ministry of Defence today confirmed there will be a "temporary reduction" in promotion opportunities for officers.

The Daily Telegraph it has seen an official document stating a temporary halt on promotions is needed to "rebalance in favour of the front line".

An MOD spokesman said: "The Royal Navy is working hard to be more efficient in how we command, manage and support sailors; so that we can focus more of our resources on the front line.

"As a result, we have warned our people that there may a temporary reduction in a few promotion opportunities, particularly for senior officers in headquarters posts."

Conservative defence spokesman Julian Lewis told the Telegraph: "You can't mortgage the future of the Armed Forces by cutting them to pieces in order to pay for a current campaign."

The rank of lieutenant commander is the equivalent of an Army major and holds a salary of between £42,000 and £50,000 a years, with officers typically aged in their early to mid thirties.