The overall number of soldiers in the British army has fallen, despite record sums being spent on recruitment, figures revealed in a written Parliamentary answer by Defence Minister Derek Twigg show. There were more than 12,700 new recruits in 2006, an increase of about 1,000 on last year, with some £89m spent on recruiting, an increase of £3.5m. Almost 14,500 personnel, whoever, have left the service this year.