COST-cutting plans for the Red Arrows to stop using red and blue smoke have angered a Member of Parliament for Bournemouth.

Conservative MP for Bournemouth East Tobias Ellwood said he was shocked to discover that the Ministry of Defence had even considered cutting the red and blue smoke that streams from the Red Arrows while they are doing the aerobatics displays.

RAF chiefs have been told to cut costs and one proposal was to save money on the specialist dyes, nozzles and tanks that are used to create the Red Arrows' trademark coloured smoke. The Arrows would just perform with white smoke, which is cheaper.

Following the public outcry the Ministry of Defence has now said the proposal has been shelved but there are fears that the plan will be resurrected in the next round of military cost cutting.

Mr Ellwood called the Red Arrows a "national treasure" and said: "To hear that ministers considered limiting the colours of smoke in a bid to save money when millions of pounds are wasted each year on procurement shows how out of touch this government is to the needs of the military."

The smoke in the colours of the Union flag has been part of the Red Arrows' displays since they were set up in 1965.

Mr Ellwood, who served for five years with the Royal Green Jackets, is outraged about the Ministry of Defence's procurement policy.

He said: "I could give you 101 examples of how money has been wasted by the MoD. If it was a commercial business it would have gone bust or the chief executive would be fired. Yet no one from the MoD has lost their job."

He has submitted a series of Parliamentary questions to the defence secretary for assurance that the Red Arrows' budget will not be cut.

He said: "They do so much to promote the military self-esteem and demonstrate to the world the effectiveness of our fighting force.

"This just shows a lack of commitment to our military."

Mr Ellwood will be visiting troops in Iraq early in 2007.