Defence Secretary John Healey has warned that "freedom is not free" in response to a concerning poll showing a significant decline in awareness of VE Day among younger generations.The statement comes as new research commissioned by SSAFA, the Armed Forces charity, reveals that six in ten members of Generation Z have never heard of VE Day. READ THE FULL STORY HERE
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00State for Defence. John Healy, good morning to you on this very special commemorative day,
00:07Minister. Can I ask, on a personal level, what you're feeling today?
00:15Well, good morning. This is the culmination of a week of events in which we sort of mark the
00:22courage and the sacrifice of what was undoubtedly Britain's greatest generation. And it's a
00:28moment to remember the debt we owe them, a debt that we today can't ever repay, but we
00:35honour it by remembering their sacrifice and learning the lessons for the future. And
00:41this will be an extraordinary day of events for an extraordinary generation. A
00:47Thanksgiving service in the Westminster Abbey behind me, led by the King and the
00:51Prime Minister, a concert just across the Parliament Square for 15,000 people this
00:57evening. And I really want to say a big thank you to all those behind the scenes that have made
01:01the street parties, the parades, the services, the celebrations of this very special day, 80 years
01:08on from the end of the war in Europe, possible for us all to enjoy. And Mr Healy, in terms of
01:17remembering the greatest generation, I'm sure you have been very alarmed by two studies out this
01:23week. One poll suggesting that more than half of Brits would not fight for the UK under any
01:29circumstance. And a second study out this week that two thirds of 18 to 24 year olds
01:34couldn't tell you what VE Day is. How do we ensure that those sacrifices made by the
01:42greatest generation are never forgotten? How do we fix this?
01:46We ensure that their sacrifices aren't forgotten and the lessons are learned by remembering what they
01:55gave, fighting for our freedom and the future of our country. And by recognising that freedom
02:02isn't free and that we have again war in Europe. It's why Britain in public and in Parliament is
02:09standing so strong behind Ukraine. But I just don't recognise that description, you know,
02:16of many young people. A million young people in the last decade applied to join the armed
02:21forces. Three quarters of them, unfortunately, just gave up on those applications before they
02:28were rejected or they were recruited. That's why we're overhauling the recruitment system so
02:32that our armed forces get the talent that we need for the future. And in the end, one of the lessons
02:39from that Second World War that we mark today is that that was a war that was won by all, not just those
02:47in uniform, but by the country as a whole. As Winston Churchill said 80 years ago today, this is a great
02:55victory of the whole nation.