Mr Browne spoke out after the Royal British Legion attacked ministers this week for failing to uphold the Military Covenant - which guarantees personnel fair treatment in return for putting their lives on the line.

He also confirmed that the British presence in Iraq would be reduced from about 5,500 to 5,000 "in a matter of weeks".

The comments, in an interview with the Sunday Mirror, are the first by Mr Browne since the Legion's "Broken Covenant" campaign emerged.

The drive is calling for better medical care, improvements in coroners' inquests to ensure swift closure for bereaved families, and more compensation for the seriously injured.

Mr Browne said: "I don't accept that it is broken but I think that we have to be careful that we live up to it. It is our duty to live up to it.

"I agree with the British Legion that we have a responsibility to support our troops and support their families, particularly when we are asking people to do very difficult and dangerous things for our security.

"I think we are improving. I'm not saying that there aren't things we need to do. I accept that we have to continue to get better in the areas that they have identified."

Mr Browne said he was reviewing some compensation payments which were perceived to have been too low, and insisted action was also being taken to ensure troops were not deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan more frequently than advised by military guidelines.

"I recognise that in some areas a small number of people are being asked to deploy more regularly than those guidelines," he added.