PIERS Morgan has blasted the British Army for banning the word lads in a bid to be more inclusive.
Troops from 22 Engineer Regiment were reportedly told the word may cause offence – even if no women were present.
Words such as “mankind” and “sportsmanship” have also been barred as the Ministry of Defence becomes gender-neutral.
But Piers, who has consistently hit out at what he calls 'the woke brigade' slammed the move on Twitter, writing: “FFS. Anyone that easily offended should not be in the British Army.”
Twitter users were quick to comment, with one person writing: "We are trying to create an image of gentlemanly conduct piers. Especially in the army.
"Prince Harry set the standards. Not to forget, ladies are a part of the army and cannot and should not be addressed as 'lads'."
But another wrote: "I’m female and have served in the Army.
"I use lads either to mean some blokes in general or some blokes & women who are doing good stuff for their country."
The ban was spelled out by the regiment’s sergeant major in a memo about online meetings, in which he told his troops 'values and standards’ [V and S] had been slacking recently while using Zoom calls or Microsoft Teams meetings to conduct military business, The Daily Mail reports.
He said: "There has been a drop in V and S over the last few weeks… Saluting/bracing up [coming to attention]… make sure people are getting paid the correct compliments.
"All are to remember D and I [diversity and inclusion] – 'gents', 'men', 'lads' and other phrases are not to be used."
A ban on women serving in close combat units was lifted in 2016 and since 2018 women have been able to apply for all military roles.
The Army has also introduced gender and age-neutral fitness tests, with the same standards required of male and female troops in tests such as press ups and running.
One serving soldier said: "I’ve served on operations with lots of women. I didn’t meet one who was offended by the word 'lads'.
"Someone of such a sensitive nature, be they male or female, would not last five minutes.
"I think the bosses are trying to solve a problem which frankly doesn’t exist."
The gender neutral moves originate from the Ministry of Defence’s joint equality, diversity and inclusion unit, known as Jedi.
An Army spokesman said: “The MoD is a modern employer and determined to offer an inclusive environment for all those serving their country.”
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