Press releases

Campaigners welcome new right to leave the armed forces for under-18s

The government has today promised to give teenage soldiers the right to leave the armed forces up until age 18 if they are unhappy. ForcesWatch and other NGOs have been campaigning on this and other issues relating to under-18s in the armed forces as the Arned Forces Bill does through parliament.

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Court martial raises fears over forces personnel’s right to conscience

A medic in the Royal Navy, who is facing court martial, will argue in court tomorrow that he has a legal defence. Michael Lyons has been charged with "wilful disobedience" because he asked not to participate in rifle training last September after having applied for conscientious objector status.

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British sailor denied right to conscientious objection as world marks CO Day

Only a few days after International Conscientious Objectors’ Day on Sunday (15 May), a member of the Royal Navy with moral objections to the war in Afghanistan will be tried for ‘wilful disobedience’.

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Armed forces report reveals MPs’ confusion over recruitment of under-18s

The report by the House of Commons Committee on the Armed Forces Bill has rejected proposals to raise the minimum age of recruitment to 18.  But ForcesWatch, an NGO that submitted evidence to the Committee, suggests that the wording of the report reveals a lack of clarity over the law in this area, even among MPs and senior military personnel.

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