Here comes the DRAFT….
Britons 'face call-up if we go to war with Russia': Head of the Army will tell ministers troops numbers are so low he would need 'to find more people' if Putin's war in Ukraine escalated and public's 'mindset' must change so they are ready
The chief of the British Army is set to warn Brits that they could be called up to fight for King and country in the event of war with Russia – because the military is 'too small' to handle the conflict on its own.
General Sir Patrick Sanders, Chief of the General Staff, will stress the need for ministers to 'mobilise the nation' in the event of a wider conflict against Russia amid its invasion of Ukraine.
His warning comes nearly two years after he said that Britain was facing its '1937 moment', a reference to the two years leading up to the Second World War.
Gen Sir Patrick – who has been openly critical of staff shortages in the military – believes there should be a 'shift' in the mindset of the public who should be willing to defend the UK against foreign adversaries.
But while the Army head – who is standing down in six months after allegedly falling out with Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, the overall chief of the Armed Forces – is not thought to be in favour of conscription, Nato bosses have warned allied nations to be prepared to take any and all actions necessary to fight Vladimir Putin's forces.
General Sir Patrick Sanders is the outgoing Chief of the General Staff ¿ the head of the British Army
Gen Sir Patrick is set to issue his warning amid rising tensions between Vladimir Putin and Nato member countries
Young men called up for National Service. Mandatory National Service continued after the Second World War until 1960
Admiral Rob Bauer, the chair of the NATO Military Committee, urged both civilians and governments to prepare for conflict and potential conscription
Junior soldiers from the Army Foundation College in Harrogate conduct an exercise in Northumberland. Conscription, were it to happen, could see more Brits trained to fight
However, his warning is thought to be a shot across the bow of the government; Gen Sir Patrick has previously been openly critical of the Army's equipment and its troop numbers.
He will make his plea to ordinary Britons at the International Armoured Vehicles Conference in Twickenham today, according to the Daily Telegraph.
Last summer, he compared Army vehicles like the Warrior armoured vehicle and the Challenger 2 tank to 'rotary dial telephones in an iPhone age'.
In a withering assessment of the armed forces' capabilities, he said: 'Our procurement record has been poor and our land industrial base has withered.
'Furthermore our Army Reserve is not as capable and credible as we need it to be.'
He quit days later after reportedly falling out with the overall chief of the armed forces, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin.
Gen Sir Patrick's impending departure was mourned by then-chair of the Commons defence select committee Tobias Ellwood, who commended him for being 'willing to tell political leaders what they should hear rather than what they'd like to hear'.
The introduction of conscription, were it to happen, would be the first time in over 60 years that Brits would be required to fight.
Mandatory military service was introduced during the First World War after the government passed the Military Service Act in 1916.
The National Service (Armed Forces) Act followed in 1939 on the day Britain declared war on Germany at the outbreak of the Second World War, requiring all fighting age men aged between 18 and 41 to join up and fight.
Following the end of the Second World War, a new National Service Act was passed that required all young men aged 17 to 21 to serve in the armed forces for 18 months and to remain on the reserve list for several years.
National Service then continued until the last servicemen were demobbed in 1963. Conscientious objectors could refuse, but would face a tribunal at which they would be expected to justify their opposition to joining up.
And while it has never returned, the idea of bringing back a period of service to the country has been floated as recently as last summer – albeit in a more voluntary form that teens could opt out of.
Gen Sir Patrick's warning comes as a senior Nato official warned that the West faces all-out war with Moscow within the next two decades – one of several warnings to be given by military top brass and ministers in several member states.
Article 5 of the organisation's founding treaty operates on the proviso that 'an attack on one is an attack on all' – requiring 'each and every other member' of the alliance to take any actions deemed necessary if one is attacked by an outside force.
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https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12998863/britons-face-army-conscription-russia-attacks.html