Sutton Council was one of the nine London councils which did not sign up to support employees who may want to be reservists in the Territorial Army.

The council leader, Liberal Democrat Councillor Sean Brennan, was asked to sign up to the campaign, Supporting Britain’s Reservists and Employers (Sabre), launched by the Ministry of Defence to improve the relationship between employers and reservists, but failed to respond.

Conservative Councillor Eric Howell, an ex-serviceman who fought in the Suez Crisis, has called for the council to join the scheme, along with the council’s chief executive, Paul Martin.

Coun Howell said: “There was a motion at the last council meeting referring to the armed forces, but it neglected to mention Sutton’s homegrown TA Unit, the 210 Transport Squadron.

"Along with several colleagues, I witnessed their highly impressive skills first-hand at the GOC [General Officer Commanding] competition last month. Sutton should be immensely proud of their achievements.

“As the borough’s largest employer, it’s about time Sutton Council got its act together to officially sign up to the Sabre campaign.

“Over 70 per cent of other London councils endorse this campaign to give support to our brave reservists – why isn’t Sutton one of them?”

After inquiries by the Sutton Guardian, Coun John Drage, executive member for resources on Sutton Council, said: “We have recently been approached by the Sabre campaign asking us to join.

"There are clear benefits to us as an employer in doing so and we have signed up to the campaign.”

• Should Sutton Council have signed up sooner? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.