MoD has lost track of veterans on recall list, says defence adviser
The Ministry of Defence has lost track of military veterans they intend to recall at a time of national danger, according to a key government adviser.About 95,000 former soldiers and officers are in the strategic reserve but it is claimed that officials have failed to maintain a full record of their contact details.George Robertson, a former defence secretary and head of Nato who co-authored last year’s strategic defence review (SDR), made the claim at an event in Salisbury, Wiltshire.“What the review talks about is having the strategic reserve, that is, all of the people in this room who’ve been in the forces who have got a continuing obligation,” the Labour peer said.“But the Ministry of Defence at the present moment doesn’t even know where most of them are.
So we need to sort of round up those who are available and fit and willing to be able to do it.”Under existing law, all former officers, regular and reserve, retain recall liability for life.The Ministry of Defence maintains contact with former military personnel in the first six years after they have left full-time service through an ‘annual reporting’ letter.It is understood that records have not been similarly maintained for a larger cohort of personnel whose service ended more than six years ago and that the practice of maintaining contact with all veterans liable for recall fell by the wayside after the end of the cold war.The SDR, chaired by Robertson, Gen Richard Barrons and Fiona Hill, a former chief adviser on Russia to the White House, recommended last June that the government should urgently address the issue of rejuvenating the strategic reserve.
Plans were proposed to map reservists’ locations and skillsets and to “make a more concerted effort to engage them under a refreshed veterans’ communications strategy”.The government announced in January that as part of the armed forces bill they would increase the maximum age for military recall from 55 to 65.The legal threshold for recall was also broadened to include ‘warlike operations’ rather than solely an ‘actual attack’ on the UK.The strategic reserve is in addition to the active reserve that consists of an actively trained component of about 32,000 part-time and full-time volunteers.But Robertson expressed his frustration this week that the government was still dragging its heels on committing fresh funding for the military and in preparing the country for war.
He accused Britain’s leaders of showing a “corrosive complacency” toward defence and putting the country “in peril” at a time when it was “under attack”,He said: “We are underprepared,We are underinsured,We are under attack,We are not safe … Britain’s national security and safety is in peril.
”The Royal United Services Institute has also criticised the scope and pace of the changes to the management of the strategic reserve.In a briefing paper published in February, the defence thinktank argued that the government had “not explained how recalled personnel would be funded for routine engagement, armed, trained collectively, or integrated with under-sized regular and reserve formations expected to generate corps-level effects or how they would integrate into homeland defence forces”.Keir Starmer, the prime minister, recently echoed the warning of Nato that Russia would be ready to attack the alliance in three years.An MoD spokesperson said: “We recognise the importance of the strategic reserve, which is why we are delivering on the Strategic Defence Review through our armed forces bill.“The bill will expand our pool of reserves by increasing the maximum age limit for recall, enable seamless transfer between regular and reserve forces and give the defence secretary power to authorise recall for warlike operations.
We are also constantly improving our data and communicating with our strategic reserve community to mobilise talent rapidly when it matters most.”The best public interest journalism relies on first-hand accounts from people in the know.If you have something to share on this subject, you can contact us confidentially using the following methods:The Guardian app has a tool to send tips about stories.Messages are end to end encrypted and concealed within the routine activity that every Guardian mobile app performs.This prevents an observer from knowing that you are communicating with us at all, let alone what is being said.
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More Britons opt to holiday in UK this summer amid uncertainty over flights
Holiday companies have predicted a surge in bookings for UK summer breaks after a jump in interest from Britons fearful of flight cancellations linked to the Iran war.Summer bookings are expected to rise in the coming weeks amid warnings of possible jet fuel shortages and resulting cancellations by airlines across Europe.Raoul Fraser, the chief executive of Lovat, a holiday park operator with sites across south-west England, said traffic to its website had increased after reports of jet fuel warnings last week. “It is definitely having a positive impact for us,” he said.“Our holidays bookings are up over 30% this year
Carmakers scramble to plug £3bn shortfall for UK loan scandal payouts
Carmakers are under pressure to drum up £3bn to cover payouts for motor finance scandal victims after failing to adequately prepare for a UK-wide compensation scheme that is due to begin this summer.Company filings show the lending arms of big vehicle manufacturers including Ford, BMW, Stellantis and Volkswagen may have massively underestimated the final costs of the financial regulator’s £9.1bn redress scheme.The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which released the final terms of its compensation plan last month, has said about 42%, or £3.8bn, of the total bill will be shouldered by carmakers’ motor financing divisions
Reeves rightly fears the bond market, but she can afford to ditch one unhelpful rule | Phillip Inman
There is a good reason Rachel Reeves is wary of the dreaded bond market vigilantes. Anyone who inherits a mountain of debt and then finds out that many of the lenders act like sharks is right to be concerned.Most of the participants in financial markets are not actively predatory. They swim in a sea of money with only one rule, to stick together, hoovering up as much profit as they can at the lowest risk.Bond vigilantes, on the other hand, are traders with a remit to pursue juicy prey, even if it means going hungry for a while
As Franco Manca scales back, is the air going out of the sourdough pizza craze?
When Franco Manca first opened in south London’s Brixton Market in 2008, its competitively priced sourdough pizzas served in a sophisticated setting quickly drew a buzz.“It was all the rage,” says food blogger Gerry del Guercio of BiteTwice, who visited in the early days and recalls the novelty of seeing queues forming for pizza in London. “It was just desperately cool, and everyone wanted to try.”At a time when the high street was largely dominated by US chains such as Pizza Hut and Domino’s, dishing up more standard fast food pizzas, the business had a unique selling point for the UK market – slow-fermented, chewy sourdough bases.The Naples-originated style of pizza went on to win the hearts of British diners, with its champion Franco Manca expanding into a nationwide chain with more than 70 sites
Growing knowledge, growing yield: British wine-making comes of age
Rows of vines stretch across the rolling hills of rural Dorset. Currently waist height, they appear bare against a bleak spring sky. Up close, you can see they are already dotted with tiny woolly buds as they exit their winter dormancy for a new growth cycle.Come summer these rows will be laden with chardonnay, pinot noir and pinot meunier grapes, ready to make the latest batch of English sparkling wine from the Langham estate near Dorchester.Although it was only 2009 when the first vines were planted here on former arable farmland, the estate has already produced award-winning wines that beat established European rivals
Survivors of alleged sexual abuse by former owner of Harrods want enablers to face justice
A group of 50 survivors of alleged sexual abuse by Harrods’ former owner Mohamed Al Fayed are calling for “meaningful consequences” for those who they claim facilitated and ignored the abuse.“If they think the money is the important factor they are so far off the mark,” said Jen Mills, a member of the Justice for Fayed and Harrods Survivors group. They claim there are “dozens of individuals who must be held to account”, from a range of eras.The campaign group, which includes some of those who took part in the redress scheme and others who did not, wants Harrods to release the findings of an internal investigation into what staff knew.The group, which is being supported by actor Richard Gere, Dame Vera Baird DBC KC, the former victims commissioner for England and Wales, and women’s rights advocates Gloria Allred and Gina Martin, also wants more regulation of HR professionals overseeing the hiring of new workers and an explanation of why the Metropolitan police and General Medical Council did not investigate women’s complaints at the time
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