WW3 fears as former PM calls for return of nationwide service after grocery store cyber assaults

Rishi Sunak wants a new national service corps to boost UK resilience after supermarket cyber attacks, but Labour has slammed the idea as an expensive review

Brits are facing fresh World War Three fears after ex-PM Rishi Sunak demanded a return of national service following a blitz of high-tech attacks on supermarkets. The former Tory chief wants a modern peacetime army mobilised to fight off foreign saboteurs after cyber crooks targeted supermarket chillers across Europe, putting food supplies at risk.

Sunak warned that panic-buying baked beans won’t save people, taking a direct dig at Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s official stockpile guidance. Writing in The Times, Sunak insisted “we all need to become more aware of the threats we face” following the digital chaos in store aisles.

The ex-Number 10 boss believes Britain is desperately short of frontline protection and called for “some kind of resilience corps” to shield communities from hybrid warfare and future mayhem.

National service originally started in Britain in 1949, forcing young men aged 17 to 21 into uniform for 18 months.

Military chiefs later stretched that to two years before ditching the scheme for good in 1963, after two million people had marched through the ranks.

Sunak conceded that dragging back the vintage Cold War model would be “impractical” for today’s battleground.

He said: “Whenever I raised national service as Prime Minister, the armed forces were quick to stress that this kind of scheme wouldn’t help them: they don’t have the capacity to take on and train more than 800,000 18-year-olds.

“What is actually required is an updated version of national service designed to enhance our resilience, strengthen our society and remind us all that citizenship brings with it responsibilities as well as rights.”

Under his blueprint, youth recruits wouldn’t just be marching up and down parade grounds.

Instead, hopefuls could “apply for a small, selective military cadre, others serve with search and rescue, St John Ambulance or Meals on Wheels and some train in areas such as cybersecurity”.

Sunak admitted he was left red-faced when he first pitched the idea from Downing Street, becoming the “butt of the joke”.

But he argued European neighbours are now following suit, pointing out that “France and Germany are both taking steps towards” launching their own schemes.

He also reckons the boot-camp overhaul could rescue Britain’s lost generation and tackle the runaway NEET (Not in Education, Employment, or Training) crisis.

“It would make us more resilient and more cohesive, give the almost one million young people not in education, employment or training a sense of purpose, and remind us all that citizenship brings responsibilities as well as rights,” Sunak said.

He insisted making civil duty compulsory works overseas, looking to Sweden’s model where 97 per cent of 18-year-olds turn up for their muster assessment.

However, Labour blasted the blueprint as a pricey flop. A Labour Party spokesperson said: “This is not a plan – it’s a review which could cost billions and is only needed because the Tories hollowed out the Armed Forces to their smallest size since Napoleon.”