PM security threat warning to recruits
May takes Queen’s place for Sandhurst parade
Theresa May has warned the Army’s newest officer recruits that challenges posed by terrorist groups and changing international alliances have made the world more complex than ever before.
THERESA MAY has warned the Army’s newest officer recruits that challenges posed by terrorist groups and changing international alliances have made the world more complex than ever before.
Speaking as the Queen’s representative at the Sovereign’s Parade at Sandhurst Academy, the Prime Minister referenced Khalid Masood’s deadly attack in Westminster last month.
She also commended former Sandhurst graduate Captain Michael Crofts for tending to the wounded as the day unfolded.
Mrs May said she wanted Britain to build a “new and deep special partnership” with the European Union as the UK enters into negotiations to leave the bloc following the EU referendum last June.
She said: “The world into which you all now enter is also very different from that which confronted many of your predecessors. The threats we face today are more complex than ever before. And the missions that you will be asked to undertake will be similarly complex.”
Mrs May said the importance of the armed forces remained paramount for keeping Britain safe, “whether it is the Royal Air Force flying missions against Daesh over the skies of Syria and Iraq, the Royal Navy protecting our sea lanes in the Gulf, or the British Army playing a leading role in UN peacekeeping missions in Somalia and South Sudan”.
The Prime Minister also restated her commitment to meeting Nato’s requirements for investing two per cent of Britain’s GDP in the armed forces, and promised to do “everything possible” to support military families.
Her reference to RAF missions against Daesh insurgents comes amid heated international discussions over the future of Syria’s leadership following a suspected chemical weapons attack by Bashar Assad’s regime on April 4.
MPs previously voted not to intervene in the conflict, which entered its sixth year in February. Sandhurst trains the Army’s officers and has previously hosted many famous graduates and members of the Royal Family, including Prince William and Prince Harry in 2005/06.
Other famous cadets who have passed out there include the Sultan of Brunei, Sir Winston Churchill, fascist Sir Oswald Mosley, James Bond author Ian Fleming and actor David Niven.
Mrs May witnessed the ceremony as the Sovereign’s Representative while the Queen was attending Maundy Thursday celebrations in Leicester.
Meanwhile Mrs May has defended Boris Johnson over his handling of the Syrian crisis and criticised Russia for failing to condemn Bashar Assad’s use of chemical weapons.
The Prime Minister said that the Foreign Secretary had done an “excellent job” in forging an international consensus on the issue.
Syrian leader Assad has dismissed the alleged chemical weapons attack in Khan Sheikhoun as a “fabrication” to justify US missile strikes against an airbase in his country.
But Mrs May said British scientists at the Porton Down research facility were “very clear” that the sarin nerve agent or “sarin-like substance” was used in the April 4 attack and it was “highly likely” that Assad’s regime was responsible.
Mr Johnson has faced criticism after pulling out of a diplomatic mission to Moscow and failing to secure agreement on targeted sanctions at a meeting with G7 counterparts this week.
The threats we face today are more complex than ever before. Prime Minister Theresa May addressing officer recruits at Sandhurst.