Brits warned nationwide service should be introduced again amid rising menace from Russia and Iran
Lord Robertson said there was a need for a ‘national conversation’ on defence, warning that ‘complacency’ was not an option in the face of ongoing cyber-attacks
National service should be introduced, former Nato bosses have said (Image: Getty Images)
National service should be reintroduced in Britain, the author of the defence review has suggested.
Former Nato chief Lord Robertson said introducing a Swedish-style national service “should certainly be on the agenda” to protect Britain due to international “threats”. The Labour peer’s comments come after he accused his own Government last week of “corrosive complacency” on defence spending.
Last week, a House of Lords committee chaired by Lord Robertson piled pressure on the Government to release its defence spending plan, which is over six months late. Now he has proposed that Britain should reinstate national service as part of an “all of country approach” to defence.
The former defence secretary gave evidence to the joint Parliamentary committee on the National Security Strategy on Monday. When asked if the UK should adopt a Swedish-style system where every resident aged 16 to 70 has a legally defined role in civil resilience, Lord Robertson responded: “I think there is a case for that. It might go against the grain in terms of the way in which we think of ourselves.
“But I think given the nature of the threats that we now face, both in a civil as well as a military context, I think there would be a case for putting that forward.
“We talk about a defence readiness bill in our review, which would involve society as a whole. It appears it’s not going to be in the King’s speech next week or the week after next, which is a pity, because it’s a crucial part of what we promoted.
“But I think ideas like that should certainly be on the agenda.’ Under the Swedish model, everyone between the ages of 16 and 70 is legally required to contribute to the country’s defence in the event of war. This includes military conscription, civil conscription such as rescue services or maintaining critical national infrastructure.
National service in Britain – which was implemented in January 1949 and required all physically fit men between 17 and 21 to serve in the armed forces for 18 months – was abolished in 1960. Other countries, such as Finland, already have military conscription and in December Germany’s parliament voted to introduce voluntary military service following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Lord Robertson’s latest comments come as the Government faces mounting questions about the Armed Forces’ readiness for combat. Defence Secretary John Healey stated last year that Labour would release the ten-year Defence Investment Plan by last autumn, but this is now not anticipated until the summer.
Last week, the Lords committee chaired by Lord Robertson urged the Government to establish a “clear and costed” route to spending 5% of GDP on defence. On Monday, he called for a ‘national conversation’ on defence so that Britons are aware of the “acts of sabotage, cyber-attacks, disinformation campaigns and espionage” that we are already facing from hostile nations such as Russia and Iran.
Lord Robertson said: “Inside the United Kingdom, I think there is a view that we are safe. We don’t notice what is happening elsewhere, and yet it is happening day by day, cyber-attacks and attacks on undersea cables, all of these things are ongoing.”
He further stated: “[In] the 1930s, we didn’t prepare until the crisis was actually on us. It would be horrible to think that it would take an actual crisis, an actual attack on the United Kingdom, before we woke up to the kind of threats that are facing us.”
