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DEFENCE bosses have banned troops from surfing eBay — because it’s distracting them from the nation’s defence.
Military IT experts discovered that servicemen who had returned from overseas duty were busy spending a £2,240 bonus on the auction site.
Top brass were worried it was too much of a distraction, so brought in the ban across the MoD’s internet network. It applies to all 180,000 men and women in uniform AND 100,000 civilian staff.
With Christmas coming, the decision has angered Our Boys. One soldier just back from Iraq said: “It’s a breach of our liberties. First they give us a tax-free bonus, then they stop us spending it how we want. Most of us only get the chance to use the net in our free time anyway.
“When you’re on ops in the Middle East, you can hardly pop down the local internet cafe.” Another officer said the ban would leave troops shelling out hundreds of pounds extra for their own kit.
He said: “The lads like to personalise the bog-standard equipment we’re issued with their own purchases, to improve them and make them more comfortable.
“The best way to do that is second-hand over eBay. Now that’s been denied to us we’ll have to go to camping shops instead and shell out more for new stuff.”
Returning soldiers were issued the £2,240 for a six-month deployment after a campaign by The Sun. It is issued to cancel out the income tax bill troops had to pay while away.
But the MoD confirmed last night they will not be able to spend it on eBay.
A spokesman said: “As with many other employers, the MoD does not allow its networks to be used for private transactions on commercial auction sites.”
Ebay has 181 million registered users — and a massive 39 per cent of the total online market share in Britain.
