National security is under threat from anti-Israel activists who have prevented the Royal Air Force from recruiting graduates at university careers fairs in recent months, according to the government’s independent adviser on political violence and disruption.
At one university, the RAF was forced to close its recruitment stall and, in another, military staff had to leave the stall early amid security concerns, the Times reported.
In a post from a group called Newcastle Apartheid Off Campus, students were encouraged to protest a careers fair which included recruiters from the British army, the RAF and Northumbria Police.
“Why would you fight for a country that does not want to fight for you?” the post read, listing a “genocidal line-up” expected at the Newcastle recruitment fair.
Newcastle students were encouraged to protest against the RAF and the British Army (Photo: Instagram)[Missing Credit]
Last week Lord Walney, the government’s independent adviser on political violence and disruption, took the unusual step of asking ministers to act against such protests.
Walney delivered a stark written warning to lawmakers that if the trend continued, it threatened to “seriously undermine our nation’s security and technical edge”.
The government adviser told the JC: “Extreme protest dressed up as concern for Gaza risks directly undermining UK national security by deliberately damaging the vital skills pipeline at the moment the UK is seeking to equip itself to face new threats.
“This is a moment for ministers across affected departments to work together to protect our future,” Walney said.
Fears about RAF recruitment come after it was reported that defence companies had ceased attending multiple university careers fairs and related events due to security and intimidation fears over Gaza protesters.
Disruption has impacted careers fairs at numerous universities, including, but not limited to, the University of Edinburgh, Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield, Cardiff, and Warwick.
Leicester Action for Palestine celebrated "major disruption to defence sector recruitment" (Photo: Instagram)[Missing Credit]
Kevin Craven, CEO of ADS Group, which represents firms in the UK’s aerospace, defence, security and space sectors, said companies had been “excluded from participating in on-campus recruitment.”
According to Craven, at least 20 members of ADS had either been “advised against attending careers fairs at universities for security reasons or have faced pressure from student groups not to appear.
“Those that do attend face intimidation and harassment. Some company staff have left their jobs as a result,” Craven wrote in the Times.
Students celebrated their protest against the recruitment fair in Newcastle (Photo: Instagram)[Missing Credit]
ADS statistics indicate that the defence sector employs 164,000 people directly but defence companies have failed to fill 10,000 vacancies each year for the past three years, Craven said.
In his letter to ministers, Walney urged the secretaries of state for education, defence, business and trade to set up a working group aimed at ensuring defence companies could attend university careers fairs while balancing free expression with public order and safeguarding the national skills pipeline.
In a call for coordinated action, Walney said: “This exclusion or self-censoring risks exacerbating an already pressing skills shortage within the defence industry.
“Given the strategic importance of maintaining a robust defence sector, it is vital that the UK demonstrates its commitment to nurturing the next generation of skilled professionals.
“Ensuring the safety of both company representatives and students during recruitment activities is an essential step toward achieving this goal, particularly as we move into an era of heightened global threats and intensifying competition for STEM talent,” Walney wrote.
