UK taxpayers will bear the cost of a £200,000 redesign of Royal Navy uniforms for female sailors due to ‘inappropriately placed’ buttons.
An internal document, seen by The Times, said the No 1 jacket, worn by the Princess Royal at ceremonial events, would be redesigned ‘at the Crown’s expense’, meaning taxpayers will bear the cost.
The current uniform has four rows of two buttons, the highest set at breast level. The new uniform will have all eight buttons placed lower, the newspaper said.
A Royal Navy temporary memorandum sent to the whole of the fleet said: ‘The position of the top two ‘decorative’ buttons on the older design of the female officer’s No 1 jacket is deemed to be inappropriately placed.’
A Royal Navy spokesperson said: ‘The Navy is both a modern organisation which continuously adapts and is also hugely proud of our history.
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‘This change, which will be brought in over several years, addresses issues raised by serving personnel regarding the fit of female officers’ jackets, and is a positive step for women in the Navy while balancing operational and financial factors.’
The Royal Navy has said the cost of new jackets will be offset by a reduction in the number of uniforms issued.
More than 950 serving female officers will be issued the new uniform in the coming year.
Non-commissioned officers, such as petty officers and warrant officers, only have three rows of buttons and are not affected.
The change was announced after female officers raised issues about the button placement and fit of the jacket.
Not all officers are pleased, though – some female officers spent their own wages on the current jacket style.
A Royal Navy insider told the Times: ‘It’s clearly absurd for the Royal Navy to be frittering away money on such a minor change to this uniform.
‘The button placement on the jacket has always been a bit of a joke within the service, but at a time when the Navy has been tasked with gearing up to a warfighting readiness, surely there are more urgent matters for the Navy to focus on and better uses for this money.
‘Surely the obvious answer would have been to simply cut off the offensive nipple buttons on the existing uniforms?’
Earlier this year, the UK armed forces warned that it was facing a £28 billion funding shortfall ahead of planned modernisation.
Keir Starmer has vowed to increase defence spending to 3.5% of GDP by 2035 to tackle the shortfall and prepare Britain for a potential war.
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