Many outlets today have reported on an interview the Defence Secretary gave to BBC Radio 4’s World at One (WATO) yesterday which focussed on combating ISIL.
Syria
The Independent’s front page says MPs will be urged to target ISIL in Syria following the Defence Secretary’s interview with WATO. This story is covered widely in most of today's papers with many quoting the Defence Secretary’s comments made yesterday. Stories based on these comments are carried in The Guardian, Daily Mirror, the Financial Times, the Daily Mail, Daily Telegraph and The Sun. They write that Parliament previously voted against such strikes but they could vote again if necessary. Some report that there is “no legal bar” to block Britain from attacking Syria and that the Prime Minister is keen to explore whether the new Parliament would reconsider this as part of the pledged “full spectrum” response against ISIL.
You can listen to the full interview here.
Tunisia
The repatriation of the first British bodies from the shooting in Tunisia is carried in The Times, The Guardian, The Sun and The Express, among others, with pictures carried widely and reports, particularly the Daily Mail, note the respect and care taken by the RAF at Brize Norton. Some note the subtle differences in reception between civilian and military bodies, while others report that they were treated like war heroes. All the British fatalities will be brought back to Brize Norton in the coming days.
RUSI Speech
There has been coverage of the Defence Secretary’s speech to RUSI yesterday where the recruitment of reservists was discussed. A short piece in The Telegraph says targets were 'stretching away' over the coming years and warned that the Government needed to 'work harder' to attract recruits. Likewise, there is a small piece in The Mirror saying Britain could delay plans to withdraw all troops from Germany by 2020 to confront Russian aggression, following the Defence Secretary’s speech.
The Times also reports that a woman is in command of an operational brigade for the first time in British Army history. During the speech, Mr Fallon said Brigadier Sharon Nesmith is commander of 1st United Kingdom Signal Brigade, which provides communications support to any military operation. She is not the first female brigadier but the first to be put in charge of a brigade.
An MOD Spokesperson said:
We knew that changes to our Reserve Forces would not happen overnight, but we are turning a corner and making real progress.
A combination of unblocking the enlistment pipeline and improved marketing has delivered real improvements. Over 5,000 people joined the Army Reserve during 2014/15 compared with around 3000 the previous year.
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