Falklands war veteran and ex-SAS chief add their names to group urging military personnel to vote for Britain to leave EU

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

The Falklands war veteran Maj Gen Julian Thompson and former SAS chief Gen Sir Michael Rose have joined a campaign urging serving and retired military personnel to back Brexit.



Thompson, who led 3 Commando Brigade in the Falklands, said the UK found itself “dominated by people who we do not elect” in Brussels.

Rose – who was incorrectly included on a list of top brass backing the campaign to remain in the EU issued by Downing Street in February – said European laws had seriously undermined the UK’s combat effectiveness.

The group of retired senior officers from the army, Royal Navy and Royal Marines gave their support to the Veterans for Britain campaign, which is calling for a vote to leave on 23 June.

In his message to veterans, Thompson said: “The result of this referendum will determine irrevocably what kind of country we, our children and our grandchildren will live in.

“Either Great Britain will remain in the EU, dominated by people who we do not elect, who we cannot throw out and who dictate many of the laws which govern us, or we will take back control and return to what we were: an independent country in which our parliament is elected by us, and answerable to us as the lawmaker.”

Rose, who received an apology from No 10 after being included in a letter from senior military commanders warning that Brexit posed a threat to security, said: “European law, in my view, has already seriously undermined UK’s combat effectiveness as a result of the intrusion of European law into national law and today our servicemen and women are in danger of becoming no more than civilians in uniform.”

He said the demands of European defence policies risked undermining the effectiveness of the Nato alliance.

“I believe that the UK’s contribution to European defence can manifestly be better made solely through Nato than by trying to spread our limited resources too thinly, in order to include European defence and security policy initiatives into the UK’s defence programme,” he said.

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In an apparent swipe at David Cameron and the remain camp, Rose added: “It is something of an insult to our European partners, in particular France and Germany, to imply that UK membership of the European Union is necessary to secure future peace in Europe.”

Vice-admiral Sir Jeremy Blackham, a former deputy chief of the defence staff, said the Brussels institutions were “an unacceptable and illegitimate form of government” with no intention of reforming.

Other retired officers supporting the campaign were Lt Gen Jonathon Riley, Maj Gen Tim Cross, Maj Gen Nick Vaux, Maj Gen Malcolm Hunt, R Admiral Roger Lane-Nott, Rear Admiral Conrad Jenkin, Rear Admiral Richard Heaslip and Commodore Mike Clapp.

Riley, who was deputy commander of the Isaf alliance in Afghanistan, said: “The ultimate ambition of the EU is undoubtedly EU armed forces.”

He asked: “Who would control the EU armed forces? The EU commission? Can we call them to account? Can we seriously believe that our soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines should be sent into danger by a body over which we have no control, and which answers to none of us?”

Heaslip, former commander of the navy’s submarine service, said: “Since its inception the EU has shown minimal interest in defence. With the exception of France, none of them can be said to have anything approaching an up-to-date all-round military capability. If the subject comes up, it is to Nato that the EU turns for help.

“The claim that the existence of the EU has saved us from war for 70 years is a myth.”

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He added that “the very last thing we need is to merge our defence with the EU”.

The intervention comes after the prime minister used a speech this month to warn that Brexit could put peace and stability on the continent at risk.

Cameron’s speech was supported by video messages from four second world war veterans including the former head of the military Field Marshal Lord Bramall.

Speaking at an event on Wednesday morning, the leading Labour MP and former army major Dan Jarvis warned that Brexit would be a boost for the Russian president, Vladimir Putin.

In remarks released beforehand he said: “This referendum is the moment to decide whether we want to be Great or little Britain.

“We face a choice between greater security and global influence as part of the EU or a period of prolonged uncertainty and permanent retrenchment by walking away.”

He added: “Britain leaving the EU would undermine vital efforts for peace and stability, and rather than security it would lead to uncertainty.”