Soldiers in UK to repay wages after salary blunder

London: Hundreds of hard-up soldiers, including many serving in Afghanistan, have been ordered to repay up to £6,500 (Dh37,153.12) each following a Ministry of Defence (MoD) salaries blunder.

Around 500 men and women are being treated ‘disgracefully' after mistakes involving the department's new computer payroll system.

The heavily-criticised Joint Personnel Administration system wrongly paid too much money into the troops' bank accounts.

In total, £783,347 more was paid to 485 soldiers. The vast majority — 398 — owe between £1,000 and £3,000. But one soldier will be forced to repay £6,500 — one-third of a new recruit's £17,000-a-year salary.

The MoD said the overpayments had built up over three years, meaning the soldiers would be unlikely to have noticed anything out of the ordinary on their monthly payslips.

The father of one Royal Engineer serving in Helmand province said his son had been asked to pay back £2,600 — around half the bonus soldiers are paid for their six-month tour of duty.

"He is furious, as any sensible and fair person would be in the aftermath of things like MPs' expenses and terror suspects claiming compensation up to six figures despite not even being British citizens," the father added.

Liberal Democrat MP Bob Russell, whose Colchester constituency is home to 16 Air Assault Brigade, which is deploying to Afghanistan, demanded an inquiry.

He said: "This is unbelievable. It is hardly a morale booster for those serving in Afghanistan, or those about to go there."

Former Labour defence minister Kevan Jones said: "To treat soldiers like this, especially when they are on operations, is an absolute disgrace."

The £269 million Joint Personnel Administration system was introduced to replace separate payrolls for the Army, Navy and RAF.

But it has been dogged by a string of problems. It was found to hold incorrect details for one in ten service personnel — nearly 20,000 people.