BRITISH soldiers are complaining about "shoddy" uniforms made in China after an East Lancashire firm lost the contract to supply them, an MP has claimed.

Chorley MP Lindsay Hoyle produced a camouflage jacket in the House of Commons which he said had 19 faults showing poor workmanship.

And he said the factory in his constituency that used to make the uniforms had received requests from soldiers for fatigues because the dye was washing off their new ones.

He has now called for a full investigation, the restoration of jobs to East Lancashire and an end to what he termed the "Chinese Takeaway".

Around 10 jobs were lost at Pincroft Dyeing and Printing Co, last year and its Blackburn sister company Cookson and Clegg had to cease manufacturing when the MoD decided to award the £50m contract to Northern Ireland's Cooneen, Watts and Stone.

Mr Hoyle said the jacket was one made by a state-owned factory in China from where Cooneen Watts and Stone sourced the uniforms.

"Soldiers are now phoning up and asking can they have specials made (here)," he said.

"The reason they want specials is because they claim that the dye is washing out of the ones that have been provided.

"Let's have a full investigation and let's put the jobs where they belong, where the taxpayer expects, that's back in this country, supporting the textile workers in Lancashire.

"If the product is not good enough, the contract should come back."

Armed forces minister Adam Ingram said he would look into any imperfections but had received no complaints from troops so far.

He said: "I genuinely believe that the contract is an excellent example of how the Ministry of Defence is making procurements smarter and better.

"Having examined the issue, we are confident that Cooneen, Watts and Stone can meet those demands while providing good value for money to the tax payer."

Speaking later, Mr Hoyle said: "We have never given up on this and continue to keep the pressure on the MoD over this issue.

"What we were waiting for is to have of one of the uniforms checked and it has just been a matter of time until we could get hold of one."

The camouflage jacket was checked by Pincroft, who claim to have found 19 faults against the specification it used when it held the contract. These include poor quality zips, lose threads, broken stitching and measurement errors.

Mark Howarth, group managing director of Pincroft Dyeing and Printing Co, said: "We are not surprised at all because there was every indication that they (the Chinese factory) would never be able to get the quality right."