X-Nico

2 unusual facts about Secretary of state for defence


Gilmour baronets

The third Baronet was a Conservative politician and served as Secretary of State for Defence in 1974.

Send Him Victorious

Secretary of State for Defence Critten and Tory grandee Lord Thorganby resign in protest.


Afghan National Security University

On 29 March 2012 UK Defense Secretary Philip Hammond met Afghan General Abdul Rahim Wardak and signed a statement of intent on developing the academy.

CVA-01

The contract for these vessels was announced on 25 July 2007 by the Secretary of State for Defence Des Browne, ending several years of delay over cost issues and British naval shipbuilding restructuring.

David Luce

He served as First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff in the mid-1960s and in that role resigned from the Royal Navy along with Navy Minister Christopher Mayhew in March 1966 in protest over the decision by the Labour Secretary of State for Defence, Denis Healey, to cancel the CVA-01 aircraft carrier programme.

Euroradar CAPTOR

An agreement was reached after the British Defence Secretary Tom King assured his West German counterpart Gerhard Stoltenberg that the British government would underwrite the project and allow GEC to acquire Ferranti Defence Systems from its troubled parent.

Keith Speed

This was because he was unable to accept the reductions in the strength of the Royal Navy proposed by Mrs Thatcher and then Secretary of State for Defence, John Nott.

No first use

In March 2002, British defence secretary Geoff Hoon stated that the UK was prepared to use nuclear weapons against "rogue states" such as Iraq if they ever used "weapons of mass destruction" against British troops in the field.

RAF Lyneham

It was announced in July 2011 by the then-Secretary of State for Defence, Dr Liam Fox, that Lyneham would become the new site of the Defence Technical Training Change Programme centre.


see also

Breaston

Geoff Hoon MP, (1953- ) who was Secretary of State for Defence from 1999 to 2005, during the invasion of Iraq.

Buque de Acción Marítima

In June 2009, the Secretary of State for Defence and Congress confirmed the construction of a second batch to replace older patrol boats of the Anaga (3), Toralla (2), Descubierta (4) and the now-retired Barceló (6) & Conejera (4) classes.

Cabinet rank

Just as traditionally lower Cabinet jobs can be placed high so can traditionally higher positions be placed low in the rankings such as when Bob Ainsworth (then Secretary of State for Defence, a very important job) was ranked the 3rd lowest ranking minister in Gordon Brown's Cabinet.

Luke Coffey

He also worked for Liam Fox when Fox was Shadow Secretary of State for Defence prior to the May 2010 UK general election.

Manning control

This was later admitted by Geoff Hoon the then secretary of state for defence in a letter to Paul Keetch Paul Keetch the Liberal Democrat defence spokesman.

Roberta Blackman-Woods

This post lasted until Hilary Armstrong was returned to the backbenches when Gordon Brown became Prime Minister, but she was then appointed PPS to the Secretary of State for Defence, Des Browne, in 2007.

Singapore–United Kingdom relations

In 2011, 6 dignitaries from the United Kingdom visited Singapore including Peter Ricketts, the National Security Advisor in January, Martin Donnelly, BIS Permanent Secretary in February, John Aston, FCO Special Representative for Climate Change in March, Jeremy Browne, Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in April, Liam Fox, Secretary of State for Defence in June and HRH The Duke of York in September.

T-80

In January 1994, British Minister of State for Defence Procurement Jonathan Aitken (answering a Question to the Secretary of State for Defence) confirmed in parliamentary debates that a Russian T-80U tank was imported for "defence research and development purposes".