LONDON — The U.K. government said Wednesday it has no plans to introduce conscription, after the head of the British Army said a “citizen army” would be needed to fight a future war with a country like Russia.
Chief of the General Staff Gen. Patrick Saunders said preparing for a potential land war would have to be a “whole-of-nation” undertaking. He praised European nations closer to Russia for “prudently laying the foundations for national mobilization.”
Saunders, who has long argued for more military spending and is due to leave his job this year, said that “within the next three years, it must be credible to talk of a British Army of 120,000.”
“But this is not enough,” he added during a speech at the International Armored Vehicles conference in London. “Taking preparatory steps to enable placing our societies on a war footing when needed are now not merely desirable but essential.”
He said “Ukraine brutally illustrates that regular armies start wars; citizen armies win them.”
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s spokesman, Max Blain, said the government “has no intention” of introducing conscription.
“The British military has a proud tradition of being a voluntary force. There are no plans to change that,” he said.
Britain’s Kate, Princess of Wales, Colonel, Irish Guards, is shown how to carry out battlefield casualty drills to deliver care to injured soldiers during a casualty simulation exercise, during her first visit to the 1st Battalion Irish Guards since becoming Colonel, at the Salisbury Plain Training Area in Wiltshire, England, Wednesday March 8, 2023. The U.K. government said Wednesday it has no plans to introduce conscription, after the head of the British Army said a “citizen army” would be needed to fight a future war with a country like Russia. Credit: AP/Steve Reigate
He added that “engaging in hypothetical wars” was “not helpful.”
Defense Secretary Grant Shapps has also used stark language about the threat to…
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