SHAPPS: WOKE CULTURE IS POISONING COMMIN SENSE

GRANT Shapps pledges to end the "poisonous" woke culture which he says threatens to distract the military from its job of protecting the nation.

- Sam Lister

The Defence Secretary warned that "controversial leftist thinking" has crept into the armed forces.

He said the "drumbeat of those who despise Britain" is failing the Army and the public and vowed to finally restore "common sense" in the services with a review of diversity rules.

Mr Shapps, writing in the Daily Express, said: "Over time, a woke culture has has seeped into public life and it is poisoning common sense discourse.

“Anyone who questions it is dismissed out of hand. And anyone who does want a woke armed forces would take us back to square one like the Labour Party.

“I am in a position to challenge this philosophy and I will.

“There are serious issues we have to work on and I promise to address those during my term in service.

“But the drumbeat of those who despise Britain, her proud history and the culture of her great people, is failing the armed services and the British public.”

Mr Shapps tore into right-on policies, such as “divisive” unconscious bias training for setting people against each other.

And he promised to review “deeply unpopular and troubling” policies, such as genderneutral toilets that force women to share bathrooms with men.

Mr Shapps is overhauling the Ministry of Defence’s diversity policy after it emerged the armed forces are looking overseas to attract ethnic minority talent because they have failed to hit recruitment targets.