Mandatory civil defence ‘should be on the agenda’ in Britain, Lord Robertson says
A case over compulsory civil defense roles in Britain “must be on the agenda”, a key government adviser and former NATO secretary-general has said.
Lord George Robertson, appointed by Sir Keir Starmer to write the government’s Strategic Defense Review (SDR), said there was “a case” for the UK to adopt a Swedish model where every resident is required to contribute to the country’s defense in times of high war alert.
The model, called total defense duty, legally obligates everyone between the ages of 16 and 70 to serve in some way and can include military, civilian or general service.
Responding to questions from the Joint Committee on National Security Strategy on Monday, Lord Robertson said “there might be a case” for such a model to be put forward given “the nature of the threats we face at the moment”.
During the meeting, Lord Mark Sedwill asked Lord Robertson: “We have known since the early days of the pandemic that if something is not mandatory in our political culture, people do not take it seriously.
“So in Sweden every resident between the ages of 16 and 70 has a legally defined role in civil resistance. Should we do this?”
Lord Robertson replied: “I think there is a justification for that. It may be against the rules in terms of how we think about ourselves. But given the nature of the threats we currently face, both in a civilian and military context, I think there may be a justification for bringing that forward.”
The former Labor defense minister added: “We are talking about the Defense Preparedness Bill in our review, which will cover society as a whole, it looks like it will not feature in the King’s speech… which is a shame because it is such an important part of what we are introducing.
“And I think ideas like this definitely need to be on the agenda.”
It comes at a time of growing concern about Britain’s ability to defend itself in the face of increasing global turbulence.
Lord Robertson has expressed concern in recent weeks about the UK’s ability to defend itself in the face of increasing global turbulence.
The former NATO chief earlier this month accused the government of “corrosive indifference” on military spending and claimed “non-military experts” at the Treasury were engaging in “vandalism”.
Downing Street hit back at Lord Robertson’s claim that Britain was “under-prepared” and “under-insured”, with the prime minister’s official spokesman saying: “I completely reject this. As I have said, our armed forces are working around the world every minute of the day to keep us safe at home.”
