The United Kingdom’s Secretary of State for Defence Grant Shapps announced that he is commissioning a “root-and-branch” review of the military’s diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies.
In a statement shared on X, Shapps wrote, “I am committed to improving the working conditions and morale of all those who work in the military and Ministry of Defence. This is not only the right thing to do but is key to improving recruitment and retainment in our forces.”
Shapps noted that a “political agenda” is being pushed in the military, when instead a “common set of values” is needed for adequate defense.
“This extremist culture has crept in over years and it is time for a proper shake up, designed to refocus the military on its core mission – being a lethal fighting force,” he continued. “I am therefore commissioning a root-and-branch review of ethnicity, diversity, and inclusivity policies in Defence. It is time for common sense instead of divisiveness.”
“At a time when the world faces a threat as serious as any time in the 50 years, I can confirm that it is inconceivable that I would allow a lowering of standards on security clearance.”
The review comes as the military previously called for fewer security checks for new recruits in an effort to increase diversity among the armed forces.
Upon news of the DEI push, 12 former senior military officers wrote to Shapps with a “sense of sadness, incredulity and anger,” demanding the armed forced remove its woke policies.
“Among the lunacy of pushing woke ideas around the use of ‘gender neutral’ pronouns, or allowing male soldiers to wear make-up or flowing locks on parades to accentuate their feminine side, we pick out the wickedness of a policy to dilute security vetting in order to boost representation of ethnic minorities,” they wrote. “With Islamism and other extremism rampant, this is nothing short of dangerous madness.”
“To remove Christianity from Acts of Remembrance is also a particular insult to our ancestors who fought and died to lead the world in ending slavery and twice in the last century to save our islands from conquest by extreme regimes,” the letter added. “No one should need to be reminded that this is a welcoming, inclusive and basically Christian country. Our civic culture on 11th November is sacred, Christian, tolerant and inclusive on our terms.”
“We call on you as Secretary of State for Defence immediately to cleanse our military culture of these poisonous ideas and to order a complete reset back to our core values of patriotism and unity that for generations made our armed forces the envy of the world.”
