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Ex-Civil Service chief warns next 20 years will be 'dominated' by conflict between nations

Ex-Civil Service chief warns next 20 years will be 'dominated' by conflict between nations Sir Simon Case, who served as the head of the Civil Service for four different prime ministers, said the Government needed to announce a new means of launching Britain's nuclear deterrent Sir Simon Case (Image: PA Archive/PA Images ) The former head of the Civil Service, Sir Simon Case, who resigned as Cabinet secretary in December, has forecasted that the next two decades will be "dominated" by conflict between nations. In his first significant interview since stepping down, Sir Simon spoke to The Times, where he called on ministers to explore alternative methods for deploying Britain's nuclear deterrent, which is currently maintained on submarines that are on constant patrol. ‌ He suggested to the publication that land or jet-fired missiles could be options and recommended that such changes should be declared in the upcoming strategic defence review, a comprehensive assessment of the UK's defence capabilities. ‌ "In my view you wouldn't rely on a single system for anything. That's true in many walks of life, let alone nuclear deterrence," he told The Times. Having worked with four prime ministers as the Civil Service chief, Sir Simon described himself as a "pessimist" in light of escalating global unrest. "As I look out on my children's lives, the next 10 and probably 20 years is going to be dominated by this inter-state conflict," he remarked. Article continues below Sir Simon also stressed: "It feels to me that we across the Western alliance need to get our skates on and be ready." During an appearance on The Times' new podcast, The General & The Journalist, earlier this week, Sir Simon expressed that the UK should increase its defence spending to 3% as swiftly as possible. Sir Keir Starmer's Government has pledged to increase defence spending to 2.5% of the UK's GDP by 2027, with a further commitment to raise it to 3% in the subsequent parliament. Article continues below The former civil servant retired at the end of last year due to a rare health condition. He held the position of Cabinet secretary under Boris Johnson, Liz Truss, Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer. Sir Simon also had high-ranking roles in the Civil Service under previous prime ministers David Cameron and Theresa May.