* Bartley: "Presenting adolescents with a glamourised portrayal of life in the armed forces... leaves them unequipped to make informed decisions and is nothing short of exploitation."
The Green Party has called on the UK Government to raise the minimum recruitment age for the British army to 18, and to stop expanding cadet units in state schools.
Jonathan Bartley, co-leader of the party, made the call after a report into child recruitment by Medact [1] found those recruited aged 16 and 17 are at greater risk of mental health problems, injury and death.
Bartley said:
“The recruitment of children to the British army is completely at odds with the high value British society places on childhood. The impact on many of those recruited before they turn 18 is clearly devastating and the Government should immediately follow the example of the rest of Europe and raise the age limit to 18.
“Presenting adolescents with a glamourised portrayal of life in the armed forces, which fails to present the very real hardships they will face, leaves them unequipped to make informed decisions and is nothing short of exploitation. The Defence Secretary should stop the expansion of cadet army units in state schools immediately.”
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