MoD plans to hire a DEI champion to help fight cyber terrorism in an inclusive environment whilst working from home have been slammed.
Britain’s National Cyber Force, whose job it is to counter cyber terrorist attacks on the UK, is hiring a Transformation Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Lead to ‘create psychologically safe spaces’ and ‘build an inclusive culture for all’.
The job involves ‘working closely with the Head of EDI to contribute to the delivery of a strategic priority in a high-profile and hugely significant area of work’.
‘This evolving role requires innovation and flexibility in an environment where individuals are empowered and trusted to apply their expertise,’ says the advert.
But the job has been slammed as a waste of taxpayer money with many calling for the funds to be redirected into the frontline prevention of cyber terrorism instead.
Critics argue Equality, Diversity and Inclusion will not help the UK defend its interests in an increasingly dangerous world.
Shadow Armed Forces Minister, Mark Francois, said: "We are now into the third anniversary of Russia’s illegal and barbaric invasion of Ukraine.
"It's a bit ironic then, that at the same time, the MoD should be advertising for even more DEI posts, none of which are likely to deter the likes of Vladimir Putin.
"The MoD needs to sort its priorities out before it is overtaken by events.”
The job pays £36,530 per year (£11,370 more than a new soldier) for 37 hours work a week for which there is no evidence on the job advert of having to attend the office at all.
It also comes with a ‘National Security Payment allowance of around £2,500’ and a massive employer’s pension contribution of 28.9 per cent, meaning taxpayers will be paying £10,582 into the DEI champion’s pension pot each year.
Commenting on the rapid proliferation of DEI jobs in the MoD, one senior soldier who can’t be named for security reasons told GB News: “At a time when the budget is so stretched you would think that there would be somebody scrutinising the costs and removing all of the non-value items whilst prioritising the essentials- a little like a household budget plan.
“They should be asking ‘what we can do without to ensure that we have the essentials to operate?'
“I am certain that the Ukrainians are not channelling money into more civil servants supporting DEI.
“They are operating on a war footing where the main and only focus is training people to fight and secure their futures,” said the soldier who has completed several tours during a multi decade career in the Army.
“In the UK the military cupboard is bare, our trainees do not have equipment, ammunition and more importantly modern battle winning technology.
“More time needs to be spent learning the lessons of 21st century conflict, which are being played out in Ukraine, rather than prioritising this woke ‘ideology’ of individual rights.
“Meritocracy wins wars, not diversity and inclusion.”
Concerns have also been raised over how the DEI Lead will ‘work effectively with people from a broad a range of organisational cultures’, ‘passionately build an inclusive culture for all’ and ‘improving awareness of Diversity and Inclusion’ whilst working from home.
The advert says, ‘Changing and Improving’, ‘Seeing the Big Picture’, ‘Working Together’ and ‘Communicating and Influencing’ will be the behaviours the job holder will be assessed by.
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It comes after Prime Minister Keir Starmer committed Britian to spending 2.5 per cent of GDP on defence by 2027, three years earlier than the previous Conservative government’s target.
The Labour leader pledged to raise it to 3 per cent by the end of the next parliament.
Labour is funding this by slashing the foreign aid budget from 0.5 per cent to 0.3 per cent of GDP, though think tanks have warned more tax rises or spending cuts will be needed to hit three per cent.
Chancellor Reeves has also announced an extra £2.2billion of defence funding for 2025/26, a cash injection as a result of Donald Trump’s rapid cessation of US support for Ukraine.
News of the job comes after a Times investigation found there are more Civil Servants working in the MoD (62,000) than there are serving personnel in the Royal Navy and Royal Airforce combined.
The numbers drew fierce criticism from senior military figures who questioned whether at least one civil servant was needed to administer every member of the Navy and Air Force.
It added to growing concerns over the size of Britain’s Armed Forces, notably the Army which is predicted to shrink below 70,000 members this year.
That’s the smallest number since the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 and means the entire British Army could fit inside Wembley with 20,000 seats to spare.
The MoD was approached for comment.
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Britain’s National Cyber Force, whose job it is to counter cyber terrorist attacks on the UK, is hiring a Transformation Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Lead to ‘create psychologically safe spaces’ and ‘build an inclusive culture for all’.
The job involves ‘working closely with the Head of EDI to contribute to the delivery of a strategic priority in a high-profile and hugely significant area of work’.
‘This evolving role requires innovation and flexibility in an environment where individuals are empowered and trusted to apply their expertise,’ says the advert.
But the job has been slammed as a waste of taxpayer money with many calling for the funds to be redirected into the frontline prevention of cyber terrorism instead.
Critics argue Equality, Diversity and Inclusion will not help the UK defend its interests in an increasingly dangerous world.
Shadow Armed Forces Minister, Mark Francois, said: "We are now into the third anniversary of Russia’s illegal and barbaric invasion of Ukraine.
"It's a bit ironic then, that at the same time, the MoD should be advertising for even more DEI posts, none of which are likely to deter the likes of Vladimir Putin.
"The MoD needs to sort its priorities out before it is overtaken by events.”
The job pays £36,530 per year (£11,370 more than a new soldier) for 37 hours work a week for which there is no evidence on the job advert of having to attend the office at all.
It also comes with a ‘National Security Payment allowance of around £2,500’ and a massive employer’s pension contribution of 28.9 per cent, meaning taxpayers will be paying £10,582 into the DEI champion’s pension pot each year.
Commenting on the rapid proliferation of DEI jobs in the MoD, one senior soldier who can’t be named for security reasons told GB News: “At a time when the budget is so stretched you would think that there would be somebody scrutinising the costs and removing all of the non-value items whilst prioritising the essentials- a little like a household budget plan.
“They should be asking ‘what we can do without to ensure that we have the essentials to operate?'
“I am certain that the Ukrainians are not channelling money into more civil servants supporting DEI.
“They are operating on a war footing where the main and only focus is training people to fight and secure their futures,” said the soldier who has completed several tours during a multi decade career in the Army.
“In the UK the military cupboard is bare, our trainees do not have equipment, ammunition and more importantly modern battle winning technology.
“More time needs to be spent learning the lessons of 21st century conflict, which are being played out in Ukraine, rather than prioritising this woke ‘ideology’ of individual rights.
“Meritocracy wins wars, not diversity and inclusion.”
Concerns have also been raised over how the DEI Lead will ‘work effectively with people from a broad a range of organisational cultures’, ‘passionately build an inclusive culture for all’ and ‘improving awareness of Diversity and Inclusion’ whilst working from home.
The advert says, ‘Changing and Improving’, ‘Seeing the Big Picture’, ‘Working Together’ and ‘Communicating and Influencing’ will be the behaviours the job holder will be assessed by.
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Requirements of the job
It comes after Prime Minister Keir Starmer committed Britian to spending 2.5 per cent of GDP on defence by 2027, three years earlier than the previous Conservative government’s target.
The Labour leader pledged to raise it to 3 per cent by the end of the next parliament.
Labour is funding this by slashing the foreign aid budget from 0.5 per cent to 0.3 per cent of GDP, though think tanks have warned more tax rises or spending cuts will be needed to hit three per cent.
Chancellor Reeves has also announced an extra £2.2billion of defence funding for 2025/26, a cash injection as a result of Donald Trump’s rapid cessation of US support for Ukraine.
News of the job comes after a Times investigation found there are more Civil Servants working in the MoD (62,000) than there are serving personnel in the Royal Navy and Royal Airforce combined.
The numbers drew fierce criticism from senior military figures who questioned whether at least one civil servant was needed to administer every member of the Navy and Air Force.
It added to growing concerns over the size of Britain’s Armed Forces, notably the Army which is predicted to shrink below 70,000 members this year.
That’s the smallest number since the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 and means the entire British Army could fit inside Wembley with 20,000 seats to spare.
The MoD was approached for comment.
Find Out More...