With the head of the British army warning that Brits could face conscription if NATO decides to go to war with Russia, what would that mean?
General Sir Patrick Sanders has warned that his soldiers and reserves would not be enough to defend the country should war break out warning that it was essential to plan for national mobilisation.
However, the Ministry of Defence said it was not calling for peacetime conscription, which was abolished in 1960, with Sanders also said to be opposed to conscription but believing that civilians would need to defend the country in a time of conflict.
It comes as army numbers have been declining to their lowest levels in more than 300 years as tensions remain high amid the war in Ukraine, US and UK airstrikes on Houthi rebels in the Red Sea and conflict between Israel and Hamas.
At an armoured warfare conference in Twickenham, Sanders said: “We need an Army designed to expand rapidly to enable the first echelon, resource the second echelon, and train and equip the citizen army that must follow.
“Within the next 3 years, it must be credible to talk of a British Army of 120 000, folding in our Reserve and strategic reserve. But this is not enough.
“Our friends in Eastern and Northern Europe, who feel the proximity of the Russian threat more acutely, are already acting prudently, laying the foundations for national mobilisation.
“As the Chairman of the NATO Military Committee warned just last week, and as the Swedish government has done, preparing Sweden for entry to NATO, taking preparatory steps to enable placing our societies on a war footing when needed are now not merely desirable, but essential.”
Why could there be conscription?
Despite reluctance from the MOD it seems conscription could happen if World War Three broke out or the UK was directly threatened by another country.
This would take place as army bosses do not believe the military and its reserves would be enough to defend the country from a potential assailant such as Russia.
However, experts say a worldwide conflict is still “unlikely” as a result of the war between Russia and Ukraine saying China posed a greater threat.
Wyn Rees, a geopolitics expert from the University of Nottingham told the Express: “I don’t think that World War Three has begun but we are living in a period of great uncertainty.”
What are the UK’s conscription rules?
It is not known exactly what the rules of a new conscription would be, as none currently exist. But before the Second World War the National Service (Armed Forces) Act imposed that all men deemed to be of a suitable age to fight would have to register for service.
Recent comments from members of the armed forces suggest that women would also be required to sign up if conscription was required in modern times.
During the Second World War, unmarried women and all childless widows between the ages of 20 and 30 became liable to call-up later in the war.
Back then those medically unfit were exempted, as were others in key industries and jobs such as baking, farming, medicine and engineering.
Conscientious objectors had to appear before a tribunal to argue their reasons for refusing to join-up. If their cases were not dismissed, they were granted one of several categories of exemption and were given non-combatant jobs.
What age would people be conscripted at?
It is likely that based on previous examples, all eligible men and women between the ages of 18 and 41 would be made to register for service in the event of nationwide conscription.
About 85 countries across the world still have conscription including Turkey, Cyprus, Israel, Syria, Brazil and both Koreas.
In South Korea military service is compulsory and all men between the ages of 18 to 36 have to undergo military training, in Russia a quarter of a million men between the ages of 18 to 27 are conscripted each year, while in the Netherlands both men and women receive a conscription letter on their 17th birthday but it is not enforced.
