Ex-Civil Service chief Simon Case warns of near future ‘dominated’ by conflict
The next 20 years will be “dominated” by conflict between nations, the former head of the Civil Service has said.
Sir Simon Case, who stood down as Cabinet secretary in December, made the warning in his first major interview since leaving the job.
Speaking to The Times newspaper, Sir Simon urged ministers to develop new means of launching Britain’s nuclear deterrent, which is currently kept aboard constantly patrolling submarines.
Strategic defence review
Land or jet-fired missiles should be considered, he told the newspaper, in a move the Government should announce as part of the coming strategic defence review, an overarching examination of the UK’s defence capability.
“In my view you wouldn’t rely on a single system for anything. That’s true in many walks of life, let alone nuclear deterrence,” he said.
Sir Simon, who served as the Civil Service chief for four prime ministers, described himself as a “pessimist” amid the rising global turmoil.
“As I look out on my children’s lives, the next 10 and probably 20 years is going to be dominated by this inter-state conflict,” he said.
Sir Simon added: “It feels to me that we across the Western alliance need to get our skates on and be ready.”
Defence spending
Speaking on a new podcast launched by The Times, The General & The Journalist, Sir Simon earlier this week said the UK should be hiking its defence spending to 3% as soon as possible.
Sir Keir Starmer’s Government has promised to raise defence spending to 2.5% of the UK’s economic output by 2027, with a commitment to raise it further to 3% in the next parliament.
The ex-civil servant retired because of a rare health condition at the end of last year.
He served as Cabinet secretary under Boris Johnson, Liz Truss, Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer.
Sir Simon also previously served in senior Civil Service roles under then-prime ministers David Cameron and Theresa May.
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You don’t say Mr Case, but your previous boss has already bet two generations and how many billions on building an economy based on the threat of global war to save the UK’s future…
So we kind of knew; what a bunch of losers you folks are in Downing Street as far as your employers are concerned…
Sir Simon …. knighted for services to a whole series of dodgy P.M’s, a lackey of the highest degree and probably a high degree in that other shadowy coven of shifty manipulators. Now comes his gloomy predictions after those wasted years when he might have influenced a more benign policy direction or blown the whistle as that series of cads and bounders were going off in the direction we now find ourselves speeding along.
Talking of shifty manipulators, Cork’s gift to the UK, Ras Putin (Prince Putin and Ras Tafari, it takes one all over the place)…deserves his own Panorama program, the whole idea of elected politicians being told what to say, do and think by ‘mysteries’ ( old Soho term for the self-employed) makes the deal null and void…got to catch-up on my revisionist reading…dodgy dealings in Downing Street…the Sir Simon Cases of a hundred and a little less years ago…
Who wants to be part of Case’s glorious future? 20y of conflict – great opportunities for armaments! Yes, you too could have your child come home in a box… Or would you prefer an independent Cymru, working for peace? Sponsoring peaceful resolution of conflicts? Saving lives, not destroying them? Supporting the UN, not undermining it? Carrying on the tradition of the Women of Wales and their amazing petition? This concept of a nation of sanctuary must be developed further, to save our children, their children, our people, their people. But first, we must get rid of the last trappings of… Read more »