Senior military officers are for the first time to get “X-factor” payments to reward them for the dangers and discipline of being in the Forces.

The awards have been given to the lower ranks since 1997 but now senior staff in all three Forces are to get recognition for the harsh differences between military and civilian life on top of a 2.2 per cent basic pay rise.

A spokeswoman for the Ministry of Defence admitted that the extra payments were in recognition of the additional pressures on the Forces arising from the deployments in Afghanistan and Iraq.

While X-factor payments will depend on rank, some officers would get more than £5,000 extra over three years, with many receiving a 7.5 per cent pay rise overall. The awards will apply to major-generals, rear-admirals and air vice-marshals up to the most senior ranks in all three Forces.

The spokeswoman said that the X-factor payments were awarded for “danger, discipline, turbulence, separation and liability for duty at all times.”

The top lieutenant-generals will this year receive total packages worth £143,723, almost £4,500 more than last year. This represents a rise of just over 3 per cent. Major-generals will see their pay packets rise to a maximum of £110,779, up almost 3.5 per cent.

The increase comes because ministers have decided that 2 and 3-star officers will receive the X-factor payments that lower ranks have enjoyed for many years. However, there is likely to be concern among the lower ranks that senior staff, already earning nearly ten times their salary, have earned the extra awards.

The rises come just over a week after General Sir Richard Dannatt, the head of the Army, complained that private soldiers earned less than traffic wardens, with a basic salary of £13,013, rising to £16,227 after 26 weeks of training.

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