Human rights groups have called on the UK government to end its policy of recruiting soldiers under 18.
In a report published last week, Child Soldiers International and ForcesWatch said the British army is wasting up to £94m a year training recruits under 18. The UK is the only member or the EU and the permanent member of the UN Security Council to allow its armed forces to recruit those under 18.
"Recruiting minors into the army is a practice from a bygone era," said David Gee of Forces Watch. "It's not just young recruits who pay the price for outdated MoD policies - taxpayers do too."
The Ministry of Defence rejected the report and said it will not change its recruitment policy.
"We take pride in the fact that our armed forces provide challenging and constructive education, training, and employment opportunities for young people equipping them with valuable and transferable skills," it said in a statement.
"We remain fully committed to meeting our obligations under the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict, and have taken steps to bestow special safeguards on young people under the age of 18."
