Tory Soames: no place for political correctness in Army

Sir Winston Churchill’s grandson today said ‘touchy-feely political correctness has no role in the Army’ after an advertising campaign told recruits ‘it’s OK to be gay’. 

Sir Nicholas Soames said the military should be ‘cautious’ about the message sent out and not lose sight of its purpose.

He said Britain’s Army soldier for soldier is the best in the world and must not let ‘woolly notions’ distract from its core aim of training and deploying troops.

The Tory MPs remarks come after a new ‘right-on’ advertising campaign aimed at signing up women, Muslims and gay recruits was widely derided.

One of the animated ads tells would-be soldiers ‘it’s OK to be gay’ while another shows a pair of troops handing a prayer mat to their Muslim comrade.

 

Tory MP Sir Nicholas Soames, the grandson of Winston Churchill, said the military should be ‘cautious’ about the message sent out and not lose sight of its purpose

Military top brass have warned the campaign ignores most likely recruits and Sir Nicholas added  his voice to the chorus of concerns.

He told a parliamentary debate on the defence today: ‘I don’t mean to sound like a stick-in-the-mud but touchy-feely political correctness has absolutely no role whatever in the British Army….

‘I accept that the Army must do what it thinks it needs to get people to join, but I think they ought to be extremely cautious about the message they send outside.’

Sir Nicholas, Conservative MP for Mid Sussex, made the warning during a Westminster Hall debate on the size and strength of Britain’s Armed Forces.

Threats to slash Army numbers as part of a fresh round of defence cuts have sparked widespread opposition among Tory MPs who have threatened a revolt over them. 

Sir Nicholas said Britain’s Army is the best in the world soldier for soldier with camaraderie and respect high. 

One of the animated ads tells would-be soldiers 'it's OK to be gay' while another shows a pair of troops handing a prayer mat to their Muslim comrade (pictured)

One of the animated ads tells would-be soldiers ‘it’s OK to be gay’ while another shows a pair of troops handing a prayer mat to their Muslim comrade (pictured)

He said it is a ‘matter of the first importance’ that the system ‘must not be altered in such a way that it will produce only pale imitations of what is actually required’.

Sir Nicholas said: ‘It’s not an idle boast that the British Army is, man for man, probably the best fighting force in the world.’

Around the globe, he added, both enemies and allies had been deeply impressed by their fitness, determination, courage, professionalism and humanity.

‘If you ask a soldier what is the key to this confidence, they will likely answer their discipline and their training, ‘ he said.

‘It’s therefore a matter of the first importance that the system that produces the young men and women of this calibre must not be altered in such a way that it will produce only pale imitations of what is actually required.

‘So far the Army has held this line but only just. It’s a constant battle for all three services to fight off politically correct notions which are, rightly, an anathema to the ethos of the armed forces.’ 

And he called for Theresa May and Philip Hammond to pay them back by find the money to properly fund our troops.

He added: ‘So far it has not failed – the Armed Forces have never let us down.

‘But the Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the Exchequer and this House must see to it that the state does not let them down by failing to adequately resource them for the hugely demanding tasks that are placed upon them.

‘So, whilst I’m all for the Army, if it really feels it has to, adapting its recruiting to some vaguely woolly notions, it is important that we continue to get the outstanding young men and women who we are so lucky to have in our armed forces and that the training does indeed prepare them for what might come.’ 

 



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