Readers' Letters: Ex-Nato chief's warning should prompt UK to bring back National Service

He challenges us all to take precautions for the lights going out, given that the UK is already under cyber attacks and has no missile defence shield like Israel’s Iron Dome.

Lord Robertson could have gone further and suggested conscription, given that the UK’s military personnel is at its lowest level since the Napoleonic Wars. Danish young women now face military service after they turn 18 under new conscription laws; with 12,000 men and women drafted for military service in Denmark each year, why not in similarly populated Scotland as part of the UK too?

National Service for Scots lasted from 1945-1963. In his book, The Best Years of Their Lives, Scottish historian Trevor Royle stated that “strategic considerations” after the Second World War meant Britain required conscription to maintain its interests. During that time the UK fought the Korean War alongside the US and other allies. Russia and China supported North Korea. All three have now joined forces again as our adversaries.

Today Russian aggression extends beyond Ukraine to cyber attacks, drone overflights, cable and pipeline sabotage and satellite jamming. Russia is challenging the UK and our European Nato allies like never before.

With Donald Trump leaving European defence to Europe’s under-strength forces, an emboldened Vladimir Putin considers he has the advantage. A full attack on a Nato country would mean the UK is obliged to go to war under Article 5. Preparation is key, including expanding our under-strength forces through conscription.

Neil Anderson, Edinburgh

Right to protest

The potential introduction of legislation to restrict protest marches, with particular reference to protecting the UK Jewish community, is the latest and most sinister manifestation of our spineless politicians' desperation to jump on the nearest passing bandwagon.

Everyone is well aware that the UK Jewish community bears no responsibility for the actions of the Israeli government.

Pro-Palestinian marches are not aimed at UK Jews, and it is an essential component of western democracies that citizens have the right – indeed, some might say the duty – to protest against the war crimes of rogue states such as Israel.

The police and the courts have sufficient powers to deal with occasional individual outrages such as the Manchester attack without further legislation.

Graham M McLeod, Kinross, Perth & Kinross

Problem defined

It is deplorable, but not at all surprising, that there has been a recent surge in antisemitism.

It is the inevitable result of an international definition supported by Zionists and the Government of Israel which effectively conflates attitudes towards them with attitudes towards Jewish people.

Until it is accepted that political critique of the actions of Israel, which currently, few would condone, is totally different from a view of Jewish people the blight of antisemitism is only likely to grow. Indignation alone is no answer.

James Scott, Edinburgh

Cold hard facts

People who deny the existence of climate change carefully pick out isolated facts which appear to support their views, while ignoring all the data which shows that it is not only continuing, but accelerating.

Alexander McKay’s letter (4 October) is a good example. He points out that the coverage of Arctic sea ice in September 2025 is larger than in September 2024 – which is true. However, he has exaggerated this increase by a factor of 10 – it is about 40,000 square kilometres, not 500,000 sq km.

So, what he fails to point out is that this increase is a relatively small one, that the pattern of reduction is a saw-tooth one with small increases being followed by larger falls, and that the reduction has been progressive and enormous since Nasa’s detailed records began in 1980. Coverage in 1981 was 7.5 million sq km compared with 4.3 million sq km in 2025.

Al Gore’s prediction, which he ridicules, was correct in principle, if somewhat over pessimistic.

Barry Hughes, Edinburgh

Identifying snags

It shows how little the Government thinks of the people of this country that they say that they are ignoring the 2,800,000 (and counting) people who have so far signed the petition against their proposed ID cards. I urge readers to sign it.

I for one do not wish my personal details to be hacked. Unlike Ken Currie last week (Letters, 30 September), saying how useful an ID card would be and how many store cards he has, asking "Why should I fear another ID card"?

Perhaps he hasn't noticed that regimes thrive on the data they hold about their citizens. The more the regime knows, the easier it is to control a population.

If Mr Currie isn't bothered about his personal information being known, is he equally happy to have the state of his finances being known so that HMRC can investigate every financial transaction he makes? Is he happy to have his friendship network known? Perhaps the way he votes is OK to be known by the Government? Why not, if he has done nothing wrong? What if his holiday flight is cancelled after he bought it because he has already exceeded his permitted air miles? What if he has eaten more than his allowance of meat this month – all for quite reasonable "green policy" reasons? What if a fine can be instantly levied, because his bank account is tied in with his ID card? Efficient from the governmental standpoint.

We may live in a democracy, but, hey, so did Germans until 1933!

Peter Hopkins, Edinburgh

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