The Army’s time and resources are being “squandered to promote a political agenda”, the Defence Secretary has said, as he held crisis talks with military chiefs over plans to relax security checks to increase diversity.
Grant Shapps said a “woke” and “extremist culture” had infiltrated the British Army and the military needed to focus on being a lethal fighting force.
He said that, amid the threat from Russia and the conflict in the Middle East, it was “inconceivable” that he would allow the standards for security clearance to be relaxed after The Telegraph revealed military personnel wanted to relax checks to promote ethnic diversity among officers.
