AFP/London
Prime Minister David Cameron yesterday proposed extending a ‘National Citizen Service’ programme for 16-year-olds, now in its first year, in response to the riots that rocked the country.Addressing calls for the reintroduction of compulsory military service, which was abolished in Britain in 1960, Cameron said he wanted to broaden the voluntary, non-military scheme past its current size of around 11,000 participants. “Many people have long thought that the answer to these questions of social behaviour is to bring back national service. In many ways I agree,” the premier said.“That’s why we are actually introducing something similar - National Citizen Service. It’s a non-military programme that captures the spirit of national service.”He added: “This should become a great national effort. Let’s make National Citizen Service available to all 16-year-olds as a rite of passage.”Cameron said he aimed for 30,000 to take part in the scheme next year. In fact in its current guise, the National Citizen Service, which began this summer in England and is run by 12 different charities and other organisations, is much more like a youth activity scheme. It involves a three-week programme in the school vacations, including a two-week summer camp away from home, the government website says.“Working in a team, you’ll have the chance to take part in exciting outdoor activities like mountaineering, canoeing and abseiling,” it says.That is followed by volunteers working for 30 hours on a part-time basis with other young people in their home regions on social projects. The scheme was even available this summer in some of the regions worst hit by rioting, including Hackney, Croydon and Ealing in London, and in the cities of Birmingham and Manchester.