BRITISH troops deploying to Kuwait have discovered that they are to be more than fighting partners with the Americans. They are also expected to use their lavatory paper.

After stocks failed to reach Royal Marines now training in the desert, soldiers are fast running out of essentials. They are even having to eat American rations.

The American meals-ready-to-eat (MREs) are considered so poor that in the build-up to the last Gulf War in 1991, US troops begged to swap their rations for the British ones.

Officials with the Defence Logistics Organisation insisted that hundreds of thousands of rations and loo rolls have arrived in Kuwait for the British troops, but some of the stocks appear to have got stuck in warehouses.

There had been some local distribution problems, officials admitted, and the British troops have had to turn to their American allies for support. Military personnel hated being short of the vital commodity and tended to grab loo rolls when they had a chance to ensure a continuous supply.

The quartermasters in charge of stores were, therefore, being forced to ration loo rolls to get a proper sense of proportion among the troops. “This is one of the reasons why some of the marines have been complaining about running out of loo paper and turning to the Americans,” one official said.

Defence officials explained that, happily, in order to avoid too much duplication, there was an agreement that the Americans would share some of their resources with their British comrades. The Royal Marines are already sharing the same US Marine Corps camp in Kuwait, and if there is a war, the US and British marines are expected to advance together into Iraq.

The food rations issue is expected to be resolved soon, but no British soldier or marine training in the heat is going to want to rely on MREs for too long.

After the 1991 Gulf War, discarded MREs were found all over the desert. The Americans have brought huge stocks with them because one of the plans is to drop MREs over Iraq to feed hungry Iraqis. Often called meals-rejected-by-everyone, the MRE diet includes chicken à la king — known as chicken à la death — and smokey frankfurters.

The British military rations, which include one roll of loo paper, boast tasty delicacies such as Lancashire hot pot, beef stew, chicken pasta and sausage and baked beans.

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