One in ten members of Armed Forces was born abroad
The number of soldiers in the British Army from Commonwealth countries has tripled in recent years.
Troops born overseas now account for a record 12 per cent of the total 101,290 strength, new figures show.
Recruits from some African nations could form battalions all by themselves.
However there are fears that the increasing reliance on foreign-born soldiers, as Britons become harder to retain, could leave the Forces vulnerable if their home countries try to stop them serving in contentious wars such as Iraq or Afghanistan.
The former head of the Army, General Sir Mike Jackson, said: “It would be in my mind a nonsense not to have some sort of ceiling.
“One has got to come to a judgment as to what is appropriate, what is right, what the British Army can properly absorb without losing its own British identity and ethos.”
Col Richard Kemp, ex-commander of British forces in Afghanistan, added: “I've been proud to serve with Commonwealth troops. They are among our finest soldiers.
“But the responsibility for defending this country lies with the citizens of this country.
“We must not ask the Commonwealth to take on a disproportionate amount of the burden.
“As our armed forces shrink to record low levels, it is important they remain overwhelmingly British.”
Figures obtained under Freedom of Information Act requests show that there are now are 8,505 soldiers from 38 different overseas nations in the Army. This is more than three times the 2,659 recorded a decade ago and just 601 in 1995.
There is also a 3,680-strong brigade of Gurkhas, recruited in Nepal.
It means there are more than 12,000 soldiers from overseas in the Army, 12 per cent of the total.
This includes 2,200 from Fiji, the strength of a small brigade. Among the recruits from the South Pacific island is Lance Bombardier Lynette Pearce, who gave birth to a baby boy while serving with 12 Regiment Royal Artillery at Afghanistan's Camp Bastion.
The Army also contains 870 South Africans and 800 Ghanaians, enough for a battalion apiece, and even 550 troops from the tiny Caribbean island chain of St Vincent and the Grenadines.
Numbers from Gambia, Malawi and Kenya are also on the rise although there are fewer soldiers hailing from Jamaica and Zimbabwe than five years ago.
One of the most recent recipients of the Victoria Cross, Lance Corporal Johnson Beharry, is from the Caribbean island of Grenada.
The Army relaxed a requirement that recruits must have lived in Britain for five years some time ago, but there are now so many Commonwealth soldiers that some units have imposed a 15 per cent cap.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence said: “The British Army wants the best personnel in its ranks and it is proud to recruit high quality people from countries with close historical and political ties to Britain.
“The Army will continue to ensure that it has right calibre of people in order to maintain operational effectiveness.”
“But the responsibility for defending this country lies with the citizens of this country.
“We must not ask the Commonwealth to take on a disproportionate amount of the burden.
“As our armed forces shrink to record low levels, it is important they remain overwhelmingly British.”
Figures obtained under Freedom of Information Act requests show that there are now are 8,505 soldiers from 38 different overseas nations in the Army. This is more than three times the 2,659 recorded a decade ago and just 601 in 1995.
There is also a 3,680-strong brigade of Gurkhas, recruited in Nepal.
It means there are more than 12,000 soldiers from overseas in the Army, 12 per cent of the total.
This includes 2,200 from Fiji, the strength of a small brigade. Among the recruits from the South Pacific island is Lance Bombardier Lynette Pearce, who gave birth to a baby boy while serving with 12 Regiment Royal Artillery at Afghanistan's Camp Bastion.
The Army also contains 870 South Africans and 800 Ghanaians, enough for a battalion apiece, and even 550 troops from the tiny Caribbean island chain of St Vincent and the Grenadines.
Numbers from Gambia, Malawi and Kenya are also on the rise although there are fewer soldiers hailing from Jamaica and Zimbabwe than five years ago.
One of the most recent recipients of the Victoria Cross, Lance Corporal Johnson Beharry, is from the Caribbean island of Grenada.
The Army relaxed a requirement that recruits must have lived in Britain for five years some time ago, but there are now so many Commonwealth soldiers that some units have imposed a 15 per cent cap.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence said: “The British Army wants the best personnel in its ranks and it is proud to recruit high quality people from countries with close historical and political ties to Britain.
“The Army will continue to ensure that it has right calibre of people in order to maintain operational effectiveness.”
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