National service: What’s the actual Tory plan and would there be exemptions?

Published

4 months ago

May 27, 2024

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If the Conservatives win the general election, teenagers will be expected to take part in national service when they turn 18.

Exactly how the scheme would work has not yet been hammered out. The Tories have said they would set up a royal commission – a type of public inquiry – to come up with the details.

But here is what we know so far about what teenagers could be doing, who might be exempt and what would happen to those who refuse to take part.

How would national service work?

Under the Conservatives’ new plan for national service, 18-year-olds would take part in one of two streams:

Community volunteering: The vast majority of teenagers would take this pathway.

It would require them to spend one weekend a month volunteering, for one year – 25 days in total.

The voluntary placements would be in the local community, with organisations such as the police, the fire service, the NHS, or charities that work with older isolated people.

Conservative MPs have given various examples of the kinds of volunteering teenagers could do, including delivering prescriptions or food to infirm people, being a lifeguard, supporting communities during storms and working with search and rescue.

Military training: 30,000 teenagers would be able to take up places to spend a year full-time in the armed forces.

Young adults would need to apply for the programme and tests would be used to select the best candidates.

This pathway would not involve combat. Rather, young people would “learn and take part in logistics, cyber security, procurement or civil response operations”, the Tories said.

Talking to Sky News’s Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips, Home Secretary James Cleverly said those who choose the military option “will be motivated to join the military” after the year-long placement.

Who will be exempt?

The Conservatives have not announced details about who would be exempt from national service – but they have confirmed that royal children would be expected to take part.

When national service was in place after the Second World War, it covered “able-bodied men” and excluded blind people and men with a mental illness.

It is not clear whether similar rules would apply under the new proposal. Disabled people may not be automatically excluded as they were in the past given voluntary placements are likely to be suited to a wide range of people.

In other countries that have national service, exemptions are mostly granted on medical grounds.

Where national or military service is a full-time requirement, people may be able to get an exemption if they are a university student, only son, single parent or professional athlete.

Would women have to do it too?

Yes, the plan involves all 18-year-olds regardless of gender.

Women were first included in national service during the Second World War, but after 1945 they were no longer included despite the scheme continuing for men.

How is national service different from conscription?

Conscription legally requires people to join the Armed Forces for a certain period.

The Tories’ plan for national service is different in that it does not compel people to serve with the military.

Would there be punishments for not taking part?

People who refused to take part would not end up in jail.

“There’s going to be no criminal sanctions,” Home Secretary James Cleverly told Sky News’s Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips.

“Nobody will be compelled to do the military element,” he added.

It remains unclear how it will be made compulsory.

Speaking to Times Radio, Foreign Office minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan compared the compulsory nature of the proposed national service to young people having to attend school until they are 18.

She did not rule out the possibility of parents being fined if their children do not take part, but said the details of how the scheme would be made mandatory would be established by the royal commission.

Writing in the Mail on Sunday, the Mr Sunak said: “To those who complain that making it mandatory is unreasonable, I say: citizenship brings with it obligations as well as rights. Being British is about more than just the queue you join at passport control.”

Will people be paid?

Mr Cleverly said those who do the military element will be paid – while those who choose to volunteer will not be paid.

How would it be funded?

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.

Has national service been pitched before?

At the start of this year, top military officials touted the idea of conscription as they discussed what could happen if NATO went to war with Russia.

The head of the British Army said UK citizens should be “trained and equipped” to fight in a potential war, while Britain’s former top NATO commander said it was time to get over the “cultural hang-ups” around conscription.

Downing Street ruled out any move towards conscription, saying army service would remain voluntary.

But a similar model to the Tories’ national service scheme has been pitched recently.

Last year, centre-right thinktank Onward proposed a “Great British National Service” scheme.

Like the Conservatives’ current proposal, it focused on volunteering and suggested 16-year-olds should have to complete a certain number of volunteering hours.

A key difference was that it was not mandatory – it proposed a system where 16-year-olds were automatically enrolled, but could opt out.

Research commissioned by Onward showed 57% of British people supported national service and 19% opposed it.

It found the most popular model included civil and military activities, with 53% more likely to support a mixed programme.

The ideas won the support of the leader of the House of Commons, Penny Mordaunt, and former Tory minister Rory Stewart.

What has the reaction been?

Critics from across the political divide have dismissed the Tories’ plan as unserious, while leading military figures are sceptical over how it would work.

Sir Keir Starmer called the national service policy “a sort of teenage Dad’s Army“, while 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.”

Mr Cleverly said the main point of the policy was to make sure “people mix with people outside their bubble” for “community cohesion”.

He 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.

UK

Anthony Joshua defeated by Daniel Dubois in IBF world heavyweight title at Wembley Stadium

Published

3 hours ago

September 22, 2024

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Anthony Joshua defeated by Daniel Dubois in IBF world heavyweight title at Wembley Stadium

Anthony Joshua missed out on the chance to become a three-time heavyweight world champion after he was stopped by British rival Daniel Dubois in the fifth round.

Dubois, 27, knocked down Joshua towards the end of the opening round with an overhand right to the 34-year-old’s chin.

The IBF heavyweight champion then dropped Joshua at the end of round three and twice in the fourth.

A right hook ended the fight with a knockout for Dubois’ first defence of the title.

The fighters went toe to toe at London’s Wembley Stadium in front of a record 96,000 fans.

‘We came up short’

Minutes after retaining the IBF championship, Dubois shouted to the crowd “are you not entertained?” before saying: “I’m a gladiator, you know?

“I’m just a warrior to the bitter end. I’m just ready to go. I want to go to the top level of this game and reach my potential. God bless you all.”

Joshua said the loss would not stop him from rebuilding despite admitting “we came up short”.

“You know I’m ready to kick off in the ring, but I’m going to keep my cool, keep very professional, and give respect to my opponent,” he said.

“I’m always saying to myself I’m a fighter for life… We keep rolling the dice. I had a sharp opponent, a fast opponent and a lot of mistakes from my end, but that’s the game.”

Dubois’ victory has sent a message to the whole heavyweight division

Jacquie Beltrao

Sports presenter

Daniel Dubois will feel like he has fulfilled his destiny here at Wembley. His father has trained him to be a champion boxer since he was tiny.

He held the IBF belt, but he has gone in there tonight and defended it in spectacular fashion – he is now in every conversation going forward.

What now for AJ? Can he face rebuilding? And will he even want to?

The Wembley ring walk is notoriously long, and Dubois looked nervous – but so did Joshua, who has done this many times before in front of a full house.

Perhaps he was thinking of what was at stake – the chance to be a three-time heavyweight champion of the world.

But 27-year-old Dubois holds the belt and was keen to prove he was a worthy champion quickly.

Many wondered if Dubois would freeze on the biggest stage: Question asked and answered emphatically.

It was a crushing defeat for Joshua – most were not expecting such a one-sided victory.

Dubois will now most likely take on the winner of Fury v Usyk 2 for all the belts. But the manner of his victory has sent a message to the whole heavyweight division.

Hearn: AJ will want rematch

Promoter Eddie Hearn then said “it was the first round” where Joshua lost, “after that he was fighting on heart and desire”.

Hearn added: “When you are in there with a massive puncher this is what can happen. He never stopped trying to get up, even when he couldn’t get up.

“Daniel deserves credit, he’s a real world champion. Congratulations to him… I’m sure [Joshua will] exercise that rematch clause, it’s a given, it’s a dangerous fight because he’s growing in confidence all the time but he’ll believe he can beat him.”

British champion Dubois, who before tonight had never fought at Wembley, was elevated to the IBF title holder after Oleksandr Usyk relinquished the belt.

Joshua outweighed Dubois by four pounds, despite a career-heaviest weight for his rival, ahead of the fight.

Among those watching was Tyson Fury, the former WBC heavyweight champion, who took a ringside seat.

Liam plays Oasis hits

Fury is set to fight Usyk for the other three titles in a rematch on 21 December.

Ahead of the fight, Liam Gallagher played some of Oasis’ biggest hits to the sold-out crowd.

The 52-year-old frontman walked on to a massive cheer and said “yes Wembley vibes in the air,” before launching into Rock ‘N’ Roll Star, Supersonic and Cigarettes & Alcohol.

He and Noel Gallagher will play Wembley for their first of seven reunion shows at the stadium on 25 July – 307 days away.

Other famous faces ringside were Irish MMA fighter Conor McGregor, former boxer Ricky Hatton, Spice Girl Emma Bunton and Love Island presenter Maya Jama.

UK

Mohamed al Fayed: Former royal security head says he warned Royal Family before Diana went on holiday with businessman

Published

9 hours ago

September 21, 2024

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Mohamed al Fayed: Former royal security head says he warned Royal Family before Diana went on holiday with businessman

The former head of royal protection says he warned the Royal Family about Mohamed al Fayed’s reputation before Princess Diana took her sons on holiday with him.

The former Harrods owner, who died last year at the age of 94, was described as a “monster” earlier this week by lawyers representing 37 alleged sexual abuse victims.

The women say he raped and sexually assaulted them while they worked at the luxury department store, prowling the shop floor and “cherry-picking” women to be brought to his executive suite.

Now, Mr Davies says people were aware of the Egyptian businessman’s reputation as far back as the 1990s, and that he raised concerns about him to the Royal Family.

“This was a man who I would be concerned [about] if a relative of mine was going on holiday with him, let alone the future king and his brother and their mother, Princess Diana,” Dai Davies told Sky News.

In July 1997, a month before she died, Princess Diana went on holiday with Fayed and his wife to their residence in St Tropez.

She took the two young princes with her – a holiday Prince Harry described as “heaven” in his 2023 memoir Spare.

“I was horrified because I was aware of some of the allegations even then that were going around,” said Mr Davies.

“I was aware that he had tried very hard to ingratiate himself with the Royal Family and obviously knowing, as I did, the reputation he was alleged [to have] then, I was concerned, and I took the opportunity to inform the Royal Family.”

Mr Davies says he was told: “Her Majesty is aware.”

“The rest is history,” he said.

Buckingham Palace told Sky News it had no comment on the allegations.

Fulham ‘deeply disturbed’ by allegations

Fulham FC, a football club that was owned by Fayed between 1997 and 2013, has said it is “deeply troubled” by the dozens of “disturbing” sexual abuse allegations against the businessman.

The Premier League club also said it is “in the process of establishing whether anyone at the club is or has been affected” by this alleged behaviour.

However, Gaute Haugenes, who managed the club’s women’s team between 2001 and 2003, told the BBC extra precautions were taken to protect female players from Fayed.

“We were aware he liked young, blonde girls. So we just made sure that situations couldn’t occur. We protected the players.”

‘The door was locked behind me’

A former Harrods employee told Sky News she was summoned to Fayed’s apartment when she began working for the department store at 19 years old.

She was told the meeting was a “job review” before “the door was locked behind me”.

“I saw his bedroom door partially open – there were sex toys on view,” she said.

“I felt petrified. I perched myself at the very end of the sofa and then… my boss, the person I worked for, pushed himself onto me.”

Harrods said in a statement on Thursday it was “utterly appalled” by the allegations of abuse and apologised to Fayed’s alleged victims.

The department store has also set up a page on its website inviting former employees to come forward if they have allegations.

The legal team involved in a civil claim against Harrods for allegedly failing to provide a safe system of work for its employees said they aimed to seek justice for the victims of a “vast web of abuse”.

UK

Lily Allen says she had her children for ‘all the wrong reasons’

Published

9 hours ago

September 21, 2024

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Lily Allen says she had her children “for all the wrong reasons,” at a “high pressure” point in her career when she felt “overwhelmed”.

The singer and actress had her two daughters, Marnie, 12 and Ethel, 11, with her ex-husband Sam Cooper when she was in her mid-20s.

By the time she became a mum, she’d already had hit singles including Smile and The Fear, released two studio albums and received a Brit Award for best British female solo artist.

Speaking about motherhood on the BBC podcast Miss Me?, which Allen hosts with her long-time friend Miquita Oliver, she said: “I think I had children for all the wrong reasons, really.

“Because I was yearning for unconditional love, which I haven’t felt in my life since I was a child.”

The now 39-year-old star added: “And also, my career was at such high speed, high pressure, and I felt like very overwhelmed by what was happening. I just didn’t get much respite you know?

“And I felt like the only way to stop people hassling me was to say, ‘It’s not about me, actually this is about this other person that’s inside me’.

When asked by Oliver if it worked, Allen says: “Yeah, they did leave me alone. I don’t think I really understood what was happening, what I got myself into.”

The daughter of actor Keith Allen and film producer Alison Owen, she went on to discuss her own childhood.

“My mum, bless her, had children really early as well, and she really struggled. But she doesn’t really talk about the struggle. And so… She inadvertently gaslit me into thinking it was, you know, easy.

“You just sort of throw the kid over your shoulder and you get on with it.

“Her job was very static, and in one place and went to an office and mine wasn’t like that at all. It wasn’t easy. It just wasn’t easy.”

The ‘nasty scars’ caused by absent parents

Allen previously told the Radio Times podcast that while she loves her children, having them “ruined her career”.

She said her decision to prioritise them over her pop career was a decision she made so as not to inflict the “nasty scars” of being an “absent” parent onto them.

She also said the myth of having it all “really annoyed” as it simply was not true.

Allen, whose younger brother is Game Of Thrones actor Alfie Allen, married Stranger Things star David Harbour in 2020.

Away from her music career, Allen has branched out into acting over the last few years, starring in two plays in London’s West End, and winning a role in Sky drama Dreamland last year.