Defence Secretary halts plan to ditch Army's 'Be the Best' slogan

Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson has halted plans to scrap the Army's "Be the Best" slogan and its historic crest.

He was responding after an official document leaked to the Mail on Sunday suggested the slogan and crest depicting crossed swords, a crown and a lion were to be dropped as part of a rebrand exercise costing £520,000.

A Ministry of Defence (MoD) spokesman said: "The Defence Secretary believes that the British Army is the best of the best and has put these proposals on hold."

According to the newspaper, the team of the Army's most senior officer, General Sir Nick Carter, the chief of general staff, wrote a document circulated among senior officers and drawing upon market research which said: "Market research in May 17 found that Be the Best did not resonate with many of our key audiences and was considered dated, elitist and non-inclusive.

"The ECAB [Executive Committee of the Army Board] therefore agreed that its use should be phased out as soon as affordably possible. The retirement of Be the Best will commence immediately with all planned refreshes of Be the Best branded material cancelled in favour of brand compliant products."

The crest was also deemed to be "non-inclusive" by advertising executives hired by the MoD, according to the report.

It was to be replaced by a fluttering Union Jack with the word ARMY in bold type underneath.