Army of Poles could fill manpower gap in British military

Foreigners are currently barred from joining up unless they first live here for five years and become British citizens, while those from Commonwealth countries can sign up at any time.

But with the Army struggling against a serious manpower shortage, senior officers revealed yesterday that the level of interest from Polish immigrant workers has prompted them to consider changes in the regulations.

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Current ad: But soon the army might recruit citizens of non-Commonwealth countries

The news emerged as the Army launched its latest £2million recruitment campaign.

It unveiled research showing nine out of ten members of the public support Britain's soldiers - although only four out of ten back the current operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Lieutenant Colonel Paul Meldon, head of Army recruitment in London, said a significant number of Poles had made inquiries and voiced interest in joining up.

He added: "Currently, they can't join up unless they live here for a few years and get a British passport - and it would need legislation to change that.

"There is a precedent for having battalions of foreign soldiers in the British Army, in the form of the Gurkha regiments.

"Or there is the French approach, where they have the Foreign Legion."

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Colonel Meldon stressed that officials had only just started considering the issue and any change is some way off.

But he said such a move could make huge numbers of potential recruits available.

It would also raise significant security and vetting issues, particularly for foreigners wanting to join the most sensitive Army units, such as the Intelligence Corps.

The Army needs to recruit around 15,000 soldiers a year just to maintain numbers, and for every ten people who visit recruitment offices or express interest, only one goes on to complete training and join an Army unit - meaning recruiters must attract 150,000 interested individuals every year.

In the past ten years, the Army has become increasingly reliant on Commonwealth soldiers - from Fiji, South Africa and dozens of other countries - who now make up around 10 per cent of all British recruits.

But allowing Poles and other non-Commonwealth recruits to join would need a significant change in the law, whether they were incorporated into existing regiments or formed into distinct Polish units, as they were during the Second World War.

Launching the latest recruitment campaign yesterday Brigadier Andrew Jackson, Commander of the Army Recruiting Group, admitted his staff are on course to miss their targets this year.

The campaign will include a series of TV advertisements that feature victims of war in Bosnia, Afghanistan, Iraq and Sierra Leone thanking British soldiers for saving them.

Poland's education minister has ordered all primary schools to begin mandatory English classes at the start of the new term in September.

Katarzyna Hall said: "English should be the basic language. Other foreign languages will be offered as an additional option only."

An education ministry spokesman said all pupils must learn English because it is "the global language of commerce".

The government would not say whether the move was influenced by the financial benefits of emigration to Britain.

Poles in the UK sent home an estimated £1.8billion last year.