The British Army is so overstretched that it is putting the lives of its own soldiers at risk, a classified report seen by the Mail has revealed.

Amid fury of Chancellor John Healey’s refusal to commit to spending 3 per cent of GDP on defence, the devastating document reveals the Army is operating at ‘135 per cent’ of capacity.

Officers interviewed as part of an internal investigation said ‘we are breaking our people’ due to an unsustainable workload.

Their warnings come as Russia continues to escalate the conflict in Ukraine and Nato’s Secretary General has warned member states to prepare for ‘all scenarios’.

But the UK’s Armed Forces require billions of pounds of additional investment to grow in size – and Mr Healey has shelved the spending target he called for when he resigned as Defence Secretary.

The report shown to the Mail says that ‘ever-reducing numbers’ and ‘ever-increasing commitments’ are pushing the entire Army to breaking point.

The report follows an investigation into the suicide of rising star officer Major Nic Coles, 36, whose inquest revealed he was over-worked and put under extreme pressure.

A major general appointed to head an inquiry team to learn lessons from his death found colleagues were in despair.

Soldiers from the British Army’s Gurkha contingent on exercise in Kenya. The pressure on troops to perform amid manpower shortages is damaging their mental health, according to a report obtained by the Mail.

Maj General James Bowder was told fundamental issues of ‘too much work and too few people are common across much of the Army’.

Another unnamed officer told the inquiry team: ‘When will we learn to operate within workforce capability and availability?’

The current trained strength of the Army is 70,759, according to official statistics – almost 40,000 fewer soldiers than in 2000 when the strength was 109,000.

The figure for April 2026 is also 3 per cent below the Army’s target of 73,000. The Royal Navy and Royal Marines are 7 per cent below target and the Royal Air Force is 12 per cent below target.

Last year’s Strategic Defence Review, a blueprint for the development of the UK’s Armed Forces over the next decade, recommended that personnel numbers across the services should increase ‘when funding allows’.

When he resigned as Defence Secretary under then Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, John Healey told the House of Commons the UK government should set a target for defence spending of 3 per cent of GDP by 2030.

There was a furious reaction last week when it emerged that Mr Healey, appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer by PM Andy Burnham, is to shelve that target in October’s Budget.

Former SAS commander Richard Williams described Mr Healey as a ‘lizard’ for quitting as Defence Secretary over what he considered inadequate ambition for military spending only to ditch that target as Chancellor.

Raising defence spending to 3 per cent of GDP by 2030 is expected to cost an extra £10billion a year in today’s terms.

While boosting spending to meet the Nato target of 3.5 per cent by 2035 will require an annual increase of £25billion.

While in recent months there have been ‘modest improvements’ in recruitment and retention, according to the government, the Armed Forces Pay Review Body found all three services remained ‘critically short of requirement’.

Treasury sources said Mr Healey had set aside the 3 per cent by 2030 commitments due to financial restraints. A major uplift in defence investment may be announced as part of next year’s Treasury spending review.

However, that uplift is expected to prioritise more money for equipment rather than additional personnel.

Major Coles was found dead at the family home he shared with his wife and infant daughter.

Major Coles, 36, of the 3rd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland, took his life on August 4th 2023.

Last year, an inquest heard that the popular officer feared seeking help for the stress he was experiencing would harm his military career.

While at his funeral his father called on senior officers to ‘look behind the mask’ of those under their command to determine who could harm themselves – because individual officers are frightened to report mental health issues for fear of prejudice in the workplace.

The Army’s internal inquiry into Major Coles’s death found the issues were being ‘hidden’. It said: ‘The Army’s output should be in balance with the current workforce. Overstretch and overwork are very often cited as a source of stress and reduction of wellbeing, but the panel concluded that the size and severity of the issue is effectively being hidden by those suffering.

‘It is the panel’s opinion that it should be considered as an area to urgently address. The effect that the mismatch between demand and capacity places on the wellbeing of the workforce is a risk that is currently not being managed.’

The report described Major Coles as ‘hugely highly performing’. At the time of his death he was working on Project Hastings – an internal task force set up to rearrange formations of troops.

The report said Project Hastings was ‘sensitive’ as it ‘involved the disbandment of a large formation, which would directly impact on the life and career of a number of Service Personnel. The SP [Maj Coles] was known to be someone who cared deeply about people.

‘[He] was contacted directly by people who were affected by the disbandment when the compartment opened in July 23.’

On Monday night, former Army officer Philip Ingram, co-founder of the Independent Defence Authority said: ‘I highlighted the suicide risk for officers back in 2009 and was promised lessons would be learned. Nothing has; the only lesson seems to be how to cover up the latest tragedy. 

‘Until there is truly independent oversight of defence, internal enquiries will continue to give a veneer of credibility but in reality keep cover-ups going. The new Armed Forces Commissioner should be all over this, but once again, we hear nothing from her office. It remains quite clear that people are the least important factor for any and all of our Armed Services.’

The Ministry of Defence said its thoughts remained with Maj Coles’s loved ones and colleagues, adding: ‘His death was a tragedy. The welfare of our people is of paramount importance and the Army has actioned all of the recommendations from this Service Inquiry report.’