Royal Marines chief stays on in post amid Navy fears that 1,000 of his men will be cut

The head of the Royal Marines has delayed moving on from the job so he can fight cuts to the elite force, he has told troops.

Maj Gen Rob Magowan was told by the head of the Navy to stay in post and keep fighting the Marines’ corner as the Corps goes through a defence review that could see 1,000 men axed.

Maj Gen Magowan, Commandant General Royal Marines, has written to the Corps official journal to assure troops he is personally confronting the threat from cuts, with a team of top staff.

The Armed Forces face another round of potentially deep cuts as they try to make £20bn of savings over the coming decade in return for new warships, planes and vehicles. At the same time a capability review led by Theresa May’s security adviser is looking at redrawing spending priorities in the wake of terrorist and cyber attacks.

Mark Sedwill is understood to believe it is more important to increase funding to fight cyber attacks than bolster the conventional Armed Forces.

Gavin Williamson, the new Defence Secretary, has said he wants another £2bn a year from the Treasury to stave off cuts, but his relations with the Chancellor have plummeted in an acrimonious Cabinet row. Allies of Philip Hammond have likened Mr Williamson to the naive Dad’s Army character Pte Pike, while the Defence Secretary last week complained the Chancellor had not paid an internal bill for flying on MoD aircraft.

A cut to the Corps along with the potential scrapping of two amphibious warships is one of a series of possible reductions proposed by service chiefs to hit Treasury savings targets.

Maj Gen Magowan wrote in the December issue of The Globe & Laurel that he wanted to reassure troops “that I am personally engaged in this review process and we have some our our best people working on it as I write”.

Reports of the proposed cuts were “speculation”, he said, but senior naval sources said the decision to keep Maj Gen Magowan in post underlined how seriously the issue was being taken.

After 18 months as Commandant General, he is due to leave and be reassigned to a senior job at Navy Command HQ, he said.

He wrote: “However, the First Sea Lord has asked me to continue to be Commandant General Royal Marines, despite moving to a new role, to ensure continuity at a time when capabilities are under review.”

By staying in post he would ensure that “our voice is being heard within the Navy and in the Ministry of Defence”, he said. The review process has been delayed after Mr Williamson succeeded Sir Michael Fallon. Maj Gen Magowan is now expected to remain as Commandant General until January.

Former Marine commanders have argued that cutting 1,000 from their current tally of 6,600 would be “utter folly”.

Lt Gen Sir Robert Fry last week told MPs that Marines were the "finest infantry in the world" but cutting their strength and “inviting them to fail” would test their loyalty.

However the Marines also face internal opposition from within the Navy with some admirals arguing the Corps must sacrifice men to preserve sailors for the overstretched fleet.