Revealed: Military chiefs forced to pay out £160m in compensation to thousands of troops after they sued the Ministry of Defence for not providing training to care for their feet in cold weather

Military chiefs have been forced to pay out £160million in compensation to troops who have complained about having cold feet, it emerged yesterday.

Thousands have sued the Ministry of Defence for negligence over claims they did not receive proper training to care for their feet in cold weather.

The negligence claims include cases of trench foot from troops who say their careers were effectively ended by the condition or similar problems.

Some 2,000 cases between 2012 and 2023 led to payouts totalling £150million, according to a Freedom of Information request by The Sun on Sunday.

Separately, at least 1,700 were awarded a portion of a £9.5million sum under the Armed Forces compensation scheme.

The figures include millions paid to lawyers in legal fees for pursuing the cases. The potential for large payouts has led to some incidents of conditions being faked or exaggerated.

Last year a former soldier attempted to sue for £1.5million after being medically discharged following a cold injury, but dropped his claim after he was caught on video walking normally.

The former soldier was ordered to pay £70,000 to cover the MoD’s legal fees.

He had claimed he was super-sensitive to the cold and said cool temperatures resulted in nerve damage to his hands and feet, leaving him unable to walk without an aid.

MoD investigators secretly filmed him in September 2021 walking with no stick or limp and he dropped his case.

The MoD said although he had suffered trench foot, it had recovered and he had been ‘deliberately malingering’ to claim compensation.

Colonel Phil Ingram, a former Army intelligence officer, said the payouts were ‘a huge waste of taxpayers’ money’, and the result of a failure in leadership.

An MoD spokesman said: ‘We are committed to ensuring that our people are well-trained and equipped to minimise the risk of injury.

‘Where illnesses and injuries caused by service do occur, former and serving personnel receive the compensation they are entitled to.’