Britain’s beleaguered armed forces are turning away hopeful recruits on “inexplicable” grounds while Sir Keir Starmer hopes to position the nation as a crucial player in global defence.GB News can reveal “endemic” issues have resulted in aspiring servicemen denied entry into the military for reasons such as childhood injuries, lactose intolerance and back acne. As the Prime Minister insists the UK “must be ready to fight” amid the threat of rogue states such as Russia and China, sources have warned the UK’s recruitment system is plagued by inefficient bureaucracy and baffling decision-making. Aidan*, who has applied to join the British Army, told the People’s Channel he felt like “they’ve thrown a lot of roadblocks at me” and “it seems it’s more hassle than it’s worth” after being bounced between multiple departments while pursuing his dream of serving his country.
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After applying in September, Aidan was told by his local recruiter he could not apply for his chosen role because he failed a colour blindness test. They told Aidan to speak to the careers office, which informed him they could not help as his medical records were “sensitive information”. Aidan was then sent to speak Capita, a private contractor which has managed army recruitment since 2012. The firm told him there was no record of having done a colour blindness test and would therefore need to get one done independently. Following this advice, Aidan was found not to be colour blind by a private optician.However, Aidan was met with further disappointment when he was deemed medically unfit for service because of a broken arm he sustained when he was just nine years old.Following this, Aidan spoke to his doctor, who told him he would need a letter from a specialist to state his arm was in full working order. He was told this was not going to be easy on the National Health Service and was encouraged to seek a private consultation.“That leads to now where I’m in the situation where I can either potentially pay £300 for this appointment with an orthopaedic doctor, or I can just find another career path,” he explained.Reflecting on his experience, Aidan discovered many others hoping to join the military had similar stories of maddening bureaucracy and baffling rejections based on “lactose intolerance or back acne”. “A lot of people have told me there’s not a lot of communication between the different areas of the service, between the forces and Capita and your recruiter and the recruitment office,” he claimed.LATEST DEVELOPMENTSFurious Iran threatens Donald Trump with ‘uncontrollable consequences’ if US launches strikes’Unprepared’ Britain faces ‘1936 moment’ warn defence heavyweights in urgent appeal to Keir StarmerGB News panel outlines six key reasons Iran is heading for war: ‘We could be days away!’One friend told Aidan they had been informed their application would take at least nine months to process, leaving them in limbo. He said: “So, in that time, what are you supposed to do? Sit around twiddling your thumbs. You have to kind of find another career.Aidan’s experience was one recognised by veterans and politicians. Shadow Defence Secretary James Cartlidge MP said: “We’ve certainly received a lot of correspondence into the Shadow Defence team from people frustrated with the recruitment process, including inexplicable cases — rejected on very marginal grounds — where one has to feel sympathy with the applicant.”Former Royal Marine David Coleman, who now helps advise and prepare aspiring servicemen before they take on official recruitment, noted “spurious” reasons for disqualifications existed, such as childhood asthma. However, he stressed some medical disqualifications may have merit despite appearing nonsensical through a civilian lens. For example, deploying someone to the field who was lactose intolerant may leave them unable to eat vital rations.Despite this, the Afghan veteran rued the sluggish pace of recruitment, adding: “It gives them a sour taste before they’ve even started, and then we’re losing people because the application process is so painful.”Mr Coleman revealed in the more than 1,000 candidates he has prepared for training, not one had identified military recruitment as a smooth process. Lieutenant Colonel Stuart Crawford concurred, saying: “A huge number of recruits are being lost by the delays, which are endemic in the recruitment system.” He had sympathy for the length of time some applications take, commenting: “You’re not going to wait 11 months, a year-and-a-half doing nothing while your mates have all got jobs… you just can’t wait that long.”Lt Col Fawcett, a former Royal Navy officer who also helped with hiring sprees, agreed this culture was leading to a “crisis in recruitment”.He said: “When I left, we were about 40 per cent gapped on recruitment targets. We just couldn’t get people through.”Lt Col Fawcett also pointed to ending the use of “old, skilled military recruiters” at the front lines of selection. He said these old hands were “the first filter” who “cast an educated eye over what was being presented to him”.Both explained veteran recruiters intuitively understood what was expected of the roles they were hiring for, without the need for multiple layers of red tape. They identified the corporate approach of Capita, much-maligned within military circles, as unsuitable for the job.Despite a sharp rise in applications to join the armed forces, thousands of would-be recruits are still being turned away or dropping out before they reach basic training.In the year to March 31, 2025, the British Army received 162,170 applications, a 43.4 per cent increase on the previous 12 months, while the Volunteer Reserves logged 31,450 applications and the Royal Air Force recorded 49,120 applications, up nearly 30 per cent year-on-year, according to the latest Ministry of Defence (MOD) statistics.However, over the past five years, 125,861 Army applicants were rejected, including 76,187 on medical grounds. Armed Forces Minister Luke Pollard said mental health issues accounted for more than half of medical disqualifications in 2024, something former Mr Coleman flagged as “a massive barrier” in recruitment. In the past decade, more than 750,000 applicants abandoned their military application without any official acceptance or rejection, Defence Secretary John Healey confirmed.The figures compound shrinking personnel numbers in the military. Since 1997, the British Army, the Royal Navy, and the Royal Air Force (RAF) have decreased by more than a third, from approximately 210,000 personnel to around 138,000 today. The army has shrunk from approximately 110,000 regulars to the low 70,000s, which is smaller than it was during the Napoleonic wars.To address these issues, the Labour Government have scrapped or updated more than 100 outdated policies in recruitment since July 2025. Military records are also set to be digitised and integrated with the NHS to speed enrollment.Britain’s News Channel understands these include measures that disqualify some sufferers of hayfever, eczema, acne and some historic injuries. Indeed, there does appear to be a change occurring with the military as intake exceeded outflow for the first time since 2021 last year.Compared with the previous 12-month period, outflow fell by 8.1 per cent, to 1,220 personnel, while intake rose by 13.3 per cent, to 1,650 personnel.An MOD spokesman said: “We are reversing a four-year decline in Armed Forces recruitment, with more personnel now joining than leaving for the first time since 2020.“We are taking decisive action by speeding up the process for those wishing to rejoin the Armed Forces, giving personnel the largest pay rise in decades, scrapping 100 outdated recruitment policies, and legislating the first-ever Armed Forces Commissioner to improve service life.“This is backed by the biggest sustained increase in defence spending since the Cold War – with an additional £5billion this financial year and £270billion across the Parliament – ensuring no return to the hollowed out Armed Forces of the past.”Capita said in a statement: “Since 2012, Capita has operated the British Army’s Recruitment Partnering Project, attracting and screening candidates through the pipeline. Medical requirements are set by the MoD and relevant authorities, and Capita is contractually required to comply with these requirements when screening candidates. “Capita follows a multi-step process before candidates are approved, which includes provisions for candidates to appeal deferrals or rejections, on medical or other grounds.“Capita understands the frustration of candidates who are eager to join the Army, and since 2021 we have made over 400 improvements to the application process, working in partnership with the Army. This includes improvements in the wait for medical documentation from healthcare professionals. “Since Capita digitised all records, the average time from issuing a request for medical documentation to full receipt has reduced materially, decreasing from 35 days in 2021 to 18 days in 2025, representing a reduction of nearly 50 per cent. This means that candidates are able to be assessed more quickly.Referring to reforms both from the Government and within the company, the statement read: “These reforms, and others, delivered a 7.4 per cent increase in recruitment into the British Army between September 2024 and September 2025. Capita is now aiding the transition over to the new Armed Forces Recruiting Service (AFRS), which is set to launch in early 2027.” Serco, which is due to take over recruitment in 2027, declined to comment.* Name has been changed to protect his anonymityOur Standards:
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