Nobody would go to jail for refusing to comply with National Service under a Conservative government, the home secretary has said.
In the Conservatives’ first policy announcement of the general election campaign, Rishi Sunak said on Saturday he would introduce a new form of mandatory National Service for 18-year-olds if his party wins the vote in July.
They would be given the choice of a full-time military placement for 12 months or a scheme to volunteer for one weekend a month for a year.
The announcement came two days after defence minister Dr Andrew Murrison told the Commons the government has “no plans” to reintroduce National Service and doing so would “damage morale, recruitment and retention and would consume professional military and naval resources”.
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‘Refusing National Service won’t lead to jail’
The military option would be selective but questions have arisen over whether any teenager who refuses to do either option would be punished.
Talking to Sky News’s Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips, Home Secretary James Cleverly said: “There’s going to be no criminal sanctions, nobody’s going to jail over this.”
He added that “nobody will be compelled to do the military element” but said those who do will be paid – while those who choose to volunteer will not be paid.
Mr Cleverly said the main point of the policy is to make sure “people mix with people outside their bubble” for “community cohesion”.
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He said those who choose the military option “will be motivated to join the military” after spending a year with the Armed Forces.
Mr Sunak released a video on TikTok on Sunday explaining the new policy to young adults.
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The military service announcement came just two days after defence minister Dr Andrew Murrison answered a question from fellow Conservative Mark Pritchard about whether an assessment had been made to reintroduce National Service.
Dr Murrison said: “The government has no current plans to reintroduce National Service.”
He said the “demanding, increasingly technical, nature of defence” means highly trained, professional men and women are needed to best defend the country.
“If potentially unwilling National Service recruits were to be obliged to serve alongside the professional men and women of our Armed Forces, it could damage morale, recruitment and retention and would consume professional military and naval resources,” he said.
Dr Murrison added that if National Service recruits were in separate units it would be “difficult to find a proper and meaningful role for them, potentially harming motivation and discipline”.
‘Surprise’ policy move dreided as ‘deeply cynical’ by defence insider
The prime minister appears to have had what some insiders regard as a belated epiphany about the critical importance of defence – and now even National Service.
It was just four months ago that Rishi Sunak’s spokesperson slapped down the outgoing head of the army for advocating the need for civilians to be trained to fight given the dangers of living in what the defence secretary has called “a pre-war world”.
General Sir Patrick Sanders had simply been using a speech to state a blunt reality – war and preparing for war is a whole-nation effort as demonstrated daily by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, where Ukrainian citizen soldiers are fighting and dying on the frontline.
Rather than support him, a Downing Street spokesperson at the time said that “hypothetical scenarios” involving possible wars were “not helpful” and ruled out any move towards a conscription model for the military.
Despite this clear rejection of the idea, the Conservatives have made it their first new major policy announcement.
Mr Cleverly said: “We want to build a society where people mix with people outside their own communities, mix with people from different backgrounds, different religions, different income levels.
“The bulk of this is about helping build a cohesive society where people mix outside their bubble.”
The Conservatives said the National Service programme would cost £2.5bn a year and would be funded by cash previously used for the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and cracking down on tax avoidance and evasion.
Image: James Cleverly speaking to Trevor Phillips on Sky News
But Labour’s shadow work and pensions secretary, Liz Kendall, accused the policy of being “yet another unfunded spending commitment”.
She told Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips: “That UK Prosperity Fund is supposed to be used to tackle economic inactivity and helping people get back into work so that really undermines another one of their arguments.
“This is an unfunded commitment, a headline-grabbing gimmick.”
She added that it does not deal with the big challenges facing young people, and said Labour has a “fully costed, fully funded plan to give young people those real opportunities that they need to build up”.
Constance Marten and her partner Mark Gordon have been found guilty at the Old Bailey of concealing the birth of a child and perverting the course of justice, it can now be reported.
There will be a retrial on other charges they were facing, which is likely to be held in March next year.
Marten, 37, who is from a wealthy family, and Gordon, 50, were charged following the death of their newborn baby daughter Victoria.
A nationwide search for Marten and Gordon was launched after a placenta was found in the couple’s burnt-out car on a motorway in Bolton, Greater Manchester, in January 2023.
The couple were arrested in Brighton last February, with the child’s body found days later.
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A family has been left “incredibly distraught” after the death of a four-year-old boy in his garden in Ceredigion in west Wales.
Maldwyn “Gwern” Evans died at his home in Tynreithin, Tregaron, on 20 June.
His family described him as a “keen little farmer” who would be remembered for his “captivating personality”.
“As a family, we are incredibly distraught by our tragic loss, and he will be greatly missed by us and the entire community,” they said in a statement issued through Dyfed-Powys Police.
“He was a loving son and a caring brother, who touched the hearts of so many.
“He lived his short life to the fullest and will be remembered for his captivating personality.
“He was an extremely keen little farmer who had knowledge and ability beyond his years.”
They added: “We would like to thank everyone for their support and kindness at this horrific time.
The friends he was holidaying with last heard from him at around 8.30am that day.
He told them he planned to walk back to his accommodation after missing a bus – a journey of around 11 hours by foot.
The search currently centres on Masca, a mountainous area on the western tip of the island.
The village, which is home to around 90 inhabitants, lies at an altitude of 650m, and is where Mr Slater is believed to have been when he was last heard from.
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