No10 steps in after Army warns ordinary Brits may be called up to fight
Downing Street has insisted people will not be forced to fight if war breaks out with Russia.
Rishi Sunak ruled out conscription after the head of the Army warned ordinary Brits may have to be called up because the regular armed forces aren't big enough. The Prime Minister's spokesman insisted that military service would remain voluntary.
Asked if Mr Sunak could rule out conscription, his spokesman said: "There is no suggestion of that. The Government has no intention to follow through with that. The British military has a proud tradition of being a voluntary force. There are no plans to change that."
The comments came after the head of the Army said Britain should "train and equip" a "citizen army" to ready the country for a potential land war. General Sir Patrick Sanders, the outgoing Chief of the General Staff (CGS), said even that would be "not enough" as he pointed to allies in eastern and northern Europe "laying the foundations for national mobilisation".
The military top brass suggested increasing Army numbers in preparation for a potential conflict would need to be a "whole-of-nation undertaking". He said: "Within the next three years, it must be credible to talk of a British Army of 120,000, folding in our reserve and strategic reserve. But this is not enough. Our friends in eastern and northern Europe, who feel the proximity of the Russian threat more acutely, are already acting prudently, laying the foundations for national mobilisation.
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"As the chairman of the Nato military committee warned just last week, and as the Swedish government has done, preparing Sweden for entry to Nato, taking preparatory steps to enable placing our societies on a war footing when needed are now not merely desirable but essential.
"We will not be immune and as the pre-war generation we must similarly prepare - and that is a whole-of-nation undertaking. Ukraine brutally illustrates that regular armies start wars; citizen armies win them."
It comes just days after a top NATO chief said civilians must be ready for an all-out war with Russia in the next 20 years. Admiral Rob Bauer said last week : "It is the whole of society that will get involved whether we like it or not. That realisation, we didn't talk about that a year ago."
The Dutch military chief said nations will need to mobilise civilians in case a global war breaks out - saying governments need to be "war ready". He went on: "I'm not saying it is going wrong tomorrow. But we have to realise it's not a given that we are in peace. And that's why we have the plans."
Gen Sir Patrick has previously voiced his concern about Russia, saying in 2022 that the UK is facing its "1937 moment". He said back then that the nation needs to be ready to "fight and win", stating: “This is our 1937 moment. We are not at war, but must act rapidly so that we aren’t drawn into one through a failure to contain territorial expansion.”.
At the weekend, Defence Secretary Grant Shapps refused to say when a Tory pledge to raise defence spending will be met - despite saying the risk of war has increased. The Defence Secretary was challenged over whether the UK is ready for war, with defence spending below its target of 2.5% of GDP. Asked when the UK will meet the target, he told the BBC's Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg: "There is a trajectory upwards. I can't give you the exact date because we've always said it's as the economic conditions allow. But the point is we're working to a plan."
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A former chief of the general staff of the British Army warned this week the UK risks a repeat of the 1930s unless more is invested in its armed forces. General Lord Dannatt hit out at the shrinking size of the army, which he said has fallen from 102,000 in 2006 to 74,000 today "and falling fast"
Writing in The Times, he drew parallels with the 1930s when the "woeful" state of the UK's armed forces failed to deter Hitler. "There is a serious danger of history repeating itself," he said. Pointing to rising geopolitical uncertainty, he said: "If our armed forces are not strong enough to deter future aggression from Moscow or Beijing it will not be a small war to contend with but a major one."
Lord Dannatt said pay and conditions should be "urgently reviewed" and "a pay rise to attract recruits and to retain current trained personnel should be a priority, as should addressing the appalling quality of some armed forces accommodation".
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Under Government proposals, the size of the regular army will be cut from a commitment of 82,000 troops to 73,000 by 2025. Mr Shapps has said the size of the British Army will not dip below 73,000 under the Conservatives, disputing projections that it could eventually sink to 50,000.
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