EXCLUSIVE: Brits thinking about refusing conscription should WW3 break out have been warned about a “severe” punishment
Fears of WW3 erupting have sparked discussion around conscription (stock image) (Image: Getty)
Brits thinking about snubbing conscription could be faced with a “severe” punishment, an expert claims. Fears the UK will need to introduce a compulsory call to arms have skyrocketed in recent weeks following threats from Russia. One of Putin’s closest advisers warned he could not “100% exclude” the prospect of “semi-military” action against British facilities, after the Armed Forces gave Volodmyr Zelensky’s men the blueprints to build its own Storm Shadow missiles.
A UK security source has admitted Russia is “preparing something”, something Prime Minister Andy Burnham has even hinted at by saying a Russian attack is “inevitable”. In the event war does break out, the UK may have to enact conscription to boost its reserves, particularly given the Army has shrunk to its smallest size since the early 19th Century, with around 74,000 full-time personnel.
Conscription refers to when a government enforces a mandatory enlistment into individuals into the military service. Over the past 126 years there have only been two instances of conscription in the UK, the first was between 1916 and 1920 and the second was between 1939 and 1960.
Speaking to Express.co.uk, author and historian David Swift suggested the punishments that could strike Brits if they don’t answer conscription’s call.
Mr Swift suggested that rather than prison time, fines might be imposed on those who refuse to sign up. He said: “I imagine it would be fines rather than imprisonment or anything like that, due to: 1. Lack of prison capacity. 2. Difficulty enforcing and lack of legitimacy and 3. That ‘conscription’, if introduced, would be very much focused around monetary reward.”
On what sort of fines we might expect to see, Mr Swift suggested that the UK could copy the example of the Greek government. In Greece, there was a fine of €6,000 (£5213.19) for not signing up, but in 2019 the country debated removing the fine altogether. The Express approached the Greek embassy in London for comment on this matter, but they did not respond.
Meanwhile, David suggested Britain could also follow the Swiss example, he explained: “In Switzerland, you have to pay an additional three percent in taxes if you refuse military service for the duration of the time you were meant to be in military training.
“This way, the fines are severe enough so that they present a genuine disincentive not to serve (if it was only a few hundred quid you would have lots of people opting out), but not as severe as imprisonment.”
David previously told us the one group of Brits that will be targeted in the event of conscription – and the two that could be exempt.
Conscription currently appears unlikely. In 2024, former head of the British Army General Sir Patrick Sanders said the UK should start laying the groundwork for “national mobilisation” and a “citizen army” in response to the threat posed by Russia.
Downing Street rejected the idea. A spokesperson for then-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the Government had “no intention” of bringing in conscription, a stance repeated by Cabinet Office minister Pat McFadden in March 2025.
Instead, ministers have consistently argued Britain is best protected by a highly trained, professional military made up of volunteers, rather than compulsory service.