British Defense Minister Grant Shapps, in a post on his X account, stated that according to a survey, 54 percent of men grow beards and mustaches.
Pointing out that recruitment to the army is among the important priorities, Shapps said, “I asked the army to reconsider the outdated beard ban. Today, a meaningful change in the rules was made.”
A spokesperson for the army told the public broadcaster BBC that the ban was lifted after months of consideration.
The spokesperson said that shaving would only be necessary in special cases and that they expected an increase in the rate of young people joining the army after the ban was lifted.
According to the new regulation, soldiers serving in the land forces will be allowed to grow beards up to 2.5 centimeters. The neck and cheekbones of the soldiers will be shaved, and the beards will be of equal size, neat and not exaggeratedly dyed.
In an interview in December, Shapps said, “The armed forces are very particular about whether people have beards, but nowadays people are growing beards. How is it that we still have difficulties in recruitment and we arbitrarily tell people that they cannot join the army with a beard? This is nonsense. It is time to modernize.”
Soldiers in the UK Royal Air Force and Navy have been allowed to grow beards and moustaches since 2019.
Muslims and Sikhs are also allowed to grow beards without jeopardizing operations, health and hygiene.
