Key Military Training Could Resume Despite Coronavirus Lockdown

Important military training could be allowed to restart in the near future, despite the UK-wide lockdown over coronavirus.

Former British Army officer, Armed Forces Minister James Heappey, said the military does not need to wait for the lockdown to be eased before deciding whether if some training should go ahead.

"There are things that we know we are going to need in six months' time, in a years' time, that if we are not training for them now, we cannot hope to have that capability which we need to keep our nation safe next year," he said.

"That is all the justification that I need as Minister for the Armed Forces, to say 'well, that training has got to now get going again, irrespective of what the lockdown does'.

"When the lockdown lifts more generally for the UK public, that will be the moment when we start to revisit some of the more of the discretionary activities cancelled or postponed because it would be appropriate at that stage."

Mr Heappey said he expects the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst to reopen in "a week or so's time" and the Army's Infantry Training Centre at Catterick to also reopen next week.

He said other training centres, including the Royal Navy's HMS Raleigh and the RAF's basic training facilities, have continued to run during the pandemic.

"I have asked the Chief of the General Staff, the Chief of the Air Staff, First Sea Lord to look across all of the sort of training activity that isn't immediately operational right now, but does have an impact on operational capability in the near future," he said.

"I've asked them to come to me with a plan for how we switch that back on in a responsible, socially-distanced way but that allows that capability to be maintained."

Shadow Armed Forces minister Stephen Morgan said it is "crucial" coronavirus does not impact national security but warned "a balance must be struck". 

The UK is in its seventh week of lockdown, but last week the Prime Minister said the country was "past the peak" of COVID-19.

An exit plan is expected in the next week.

London's NHS Nightingale Hospital, which was set up with the help of the military to treat coronavirus patients, has since been put on "standby" following a drop in the number of admissions.

Despite the developments, the Armed Forces continue to play a key role in the response to the pandemic. 

Around 1,500 military personnel are currently helping to carry out COVID-19 tests at 92 sites across the UK.

Mr Heappey said he was "confident" that deployed service members have the correct personal protective equipment (PPE).

On Monday, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said more than 100 military personnel had tested positive for coronavirus. 

Cover image: Crown Copyright.