Should unemployed young people do national service?

Whether a man who’s never had to fight anything more lethal than a price war” with Lidl is adequately qualified to make such a suggestion is arguable.

- SEAN O'GRADY

Still, John Allan, ex-boss of Tesco has been bold enough to say that unemployed young people should be made to undertake military training in return for social security payments. It is, of course, not the first time that someone in no danger of conscription has casually called for the younger generation to be put in the army to sort them out.

What’s wrong with stacking shelves?

Nothing, and you run only a small risk of a shrapnel wound, but Allan has grander things in mind for the people known, somewhat disrespectfully, as “Neets”, ie 18- to 24-year-olds who are not in education, employment or training. There are some 950,000 registered, and they’d make quite a difference to the currently understrength British army of 73,847 at the last count, even if only as a reserve. Allan says: “We could reintroduce military training for people who are not working. That would be a way of actually helping us with, you know, stepping up our defence capability as well, which is another important issue." He also offers up as an alternative “municipal work”, which may be a euphemism for street cleaning.

Would it work?