Rishi Sunak’s national service pledge is ‘bonkers’, says ex-military chief

Britain’s armed forces need more money not untrained teenage volunteers, former military leaders and Tory figures have said in a new blow to the Conservatives’ faltering election campaign.

Within hours of being announced, Rishi Sunak’s election pledge to bring back military service for 18-year-olds was rubbished by army chiefs and a former Conservative defence secretary.

Rishi Sunak pledged to introduce mandatory national service which would see young people spend a year in the military or do volunteer work on weekends.

The prime minister doubled down on the proposal on Sunday night, saying that national service schemes in other countries “show just how fulfilling it is for young people”.

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But Adm Alan West, a former chief of the naval staff, said it was a “bonkers” plan which would deplete the defence budget.

“I’m delighted if more young people become aware of defence and are involved … but this idea is basically bonkers,” Lord West said. “We need to spend more on defence, and – by doing what he’s suggesting – money will be sucked out of defence.”

He added that Rishi Sunak should have committed more funds to the defence budget before the election.

Richard Dannatt, a former chief of the general staff, said the proposal was “electoral opportunism”. “The costs of this would be considerable in terms of trainers and infrastructure. This task cannot just be imposed on the armed forces as an extra thing to do,” he added.

Michael Portillo, a former defence secretary, said the announcement could do further damage to the Tories’ reputation for fiscal responsibility.

“It represents an increase in public expenditure and that’s very important, because it puts the Conservatives on the back foot. Because, on the whole, the Conservatives have been saying we’ve got clear plans, we’re the government. Now ask Labour how they’re going to find the extra money. But now this reverses all that, because now Labour can say the Conservatives are making promises which aren’t funded.”

The pledge was launched just two days after the defence minister Andrew Murrison said that the government had no plans for national service in “any form” because it would do more harm than good.

In an answer to a written parliamentary question, Murrison said placing “potentially unwilling” recruits with professional soldiers “could damage morale, recruitment and retention and would consume professional military and naval resources”.