As country marked Remembrance Day on Sunday Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton, the Chief of Defence Staff, said it was important for society to “understand the stakes” of maintaining our safety
The chief of Britain’s armed forces said the nation’s security “is not the responsibility of the military alone” as the country marked Remembrance Day on Sunday (November 9).
Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton, the Chief of Defence Staff, said it was important for society to “understand the stakes” of maintaining the country’s safety. He warned of an “increasingly uncertain world” and said of the Ukraine war: “This conflict reminds us that peace is never guaranteed.
“It (the UK) must be defended, and sometimes at great cost. But defence is not the responsibility of the military alone. It is a national endeavour. It requires investment, innovation, and the support of a society that understands the stakes.”
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said the country was “losing a sense of who we are and what we’re fighting for”. She said: “A nation is only a nation when people are prepared to defend it.
“And it is both tragic and concerning that many people in Britain today no longer feel that call. Why would young people want to fight for their country, when they are told that where they come from is wicked? That their inheritance is racist.”
She cited “a slow erosion of pride in our schools, our institutions, even parts of our media where the story of Britain is too often told through shame”.
The defence chief’s warning came as the King led the nation in honouring those who have died in conflict at a ceremony attended by thousands of veterans. Charles took centre stage and laid the first wreath at the Cenotaph in recognition of the fallen from conflicts dating back to the First World War, and was followed by the Prince of Wales.
The King, wearing Field Marshal uniform with a ceremonial frock coat, saluted before stepping back from the monument after leading a two-minute silence at the annual Remembrance Sunday service in London. His son, dressed in Royal Air Force uniform in the rank of Wing Commander, also saluted after laying his wreath at the Cenotaph.
William, who in 2013 completed seven-and-a-half years of full-time operational military service, promotes the roles and welfare of current and former service personnel as a key part of his work.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer also laid a floral tribute, along with senior politicians including Ms Badenoch, Sir Ed Davey, Yvette Cooper, Shabana Mahmood and Sir Lindsay Hoyle and representatives from the Commonwealth. The Princess of Wales and the Queen, both dressed in black, and other members of the royal family viewed the Remembrance Sunday service from a balcony at the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office overlooking the Cenotaph.
The pair were joined by the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, the Duke of Kent and the Duchess of Edinburgh. Standing close to the Cenotaph were eight former prime ministers: Sir John Major, Sir Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, Lord Cameron, Baroness May, Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak.
The Cenotaph wreath-laying ceremony was held after a two-minute silence was observed in the heart of Whitehall and at war memorials in villages, towns and cities across the country.
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