Robert Clark

Robert Clark is Director of the Defence and Security Unit at Civitas. Robert served in the British military for 15 years, including five years in recruitment.

Wednesday

Robert Clark

Why are our universities still cosy with China?

It sounds like something from a spy novel: scientists linked to the Chinese military complex working at UK universities on sensitive technologies, which can be used for weapons development by the Chinese Communist party. Except, this is no novel. This is very much reality. New research uncovered by Civitas has revealed that there are at least 60 individuals from tech and defence conglomerates in China, in addition to military-affiliated defence universities, who have either worked alongside UK universities or who are even formally associated with them. This figure includes at least two active members of the Chinese army (the People’s Liberation Army) who are still working at two separate British campuses, alongside many others who were previously listed at army organisations.

Thursday

Robert Clark

The RAF’s recruitment policy could damage Britain’s defences

This week’s news that the Royal Air Force is reviewing its recruitment policies is causing quite a stir. In an astounding revelation, it emerged that all white male recruit applications are effectively to be put on pause to allow for a dramatic increase in ethnic minority and female hires. There are many, many troubling issues with this. Legality for one. There is a crucial distinction between two important definitions: positive action, defined as measures to encourage minority candidates, and positive discrimination, which includes measures to force ethnic diversity through discriminating in favour of ethnic minority individuals.

Robert Clark

Afghanistan will once again become a breeding ground for terror

'Bin Laden is dead and al Qaeda is degraded in Afghanistan and it's time to end the forever war'. So said Joe Biden earlier this year when he announced his decision to pull US troops out of the country. The scenes of chaos that have followed that departure makes it vital that this myth – that western troops had already outstayed their welcome in Afghanistan – is not allowed to go unchallenged. The reality is rather different: Biden's decision to 'end' the war (or at least America's involvement in it) was a politically motivated one, which suited the president.