Army leaders will be recruited direct from the civilian world rather than rising up through the ranks, under a proposed overhaul to bring in specialist skills for 21st century warfare.

The plan to hire straight into the regular Army’s middle and possibly even higher ranks will overturn generations of tradition and a career structure that has seen leaders work their way up from the bottom.

The British Army is considering hiring direct from industry and the boardroom to get civilians who have already had established careers in areas like cyber technology, aviation technology and logistics.