Defence Secretary welcomes Lord Levene's Review of Progress

The Defence Secretary has welcomed Lord Levene's review of progress towards implementing the recommendations of the Defence Reform Review published in Jun 11. In a letter to the Secretary of State, Lord Levene congratulated the Department on strong progress made against the 53 recommendations made and said he believes the programme is being run with genuine urgency...More information »

The Secretary of State delivers his Vision for Defence

Defence Secretary Philip Hammond has outlined the vision for delivering value for money and innovation in Defence at the Reform Defence Conference in London. Mr Hammond said: "Our Armed Forces exist to protect our country and provide the ultimate guarantee of its security and independence. This must be the first duty of Government, and everything we do in Defence is directed at supporting that objective...More information »

Design of new Armed Forces Pension Scheme is agreed

The Defence Secretary, Philip Hammond, has announced the final agreement with the Government on the design of the new Armed Forces Pension scheme. To be introduced in Apr 15, for all serving personnel, the main parameters for the new Armed Forces Pension Scheme will form the basis for detailed implementation...More information »

MoD Launch New Defence Discount Service

The MoD has launched a new Defence Discount Service, as part of the Armed Forces Covenant, in recognition of service in the Armed Forces. Those it is open to include: Serving and Reserve personnel and their spouses/partners. The Defence Secretary said: "We owe a great debt to the members of the Armed Forces and this is an opportunity for businesses to show their gratitude and support...More information »

Philip Hammond on 'partnering in Afghanistan'

The Defence Secretary has addressed the House of Commons in response to reports that NATO's policy regarding ISAF and Afghan troops working together has changed. Philip Hammond said: "There has been no change of policy in Afghanistan. In respect of the International Security Assistance Force...not for the first time the media have become a little overexcited...See full details

Attack on Camp Bastion - Defence Secretary interviewed on Newsnight

Jeremy Paxman interviewed the Defence Secretary, Philip Hammond, on BBC 2's Newsnight programme last evening on the attack carried out on Camp Bastion by the Taliban over the weekend. Five RAF Regiment Gunners were thought to have been injured during the counter attack in which at least 14 Taliban were killed...More information »

The Defence Secretary - in Afghanistan, on Afghanistan

Defence Secretary, Philip Hammond has been speaking in Afghanistan. Speaking about the reasons behind the UK's continued presence there he said: "We didn't come here to defeat the insurgency. We came here to ensure that international terrorists that had been using Afghan territory were denied access to that territory...In my opinion, we came here to protect our national security...More information »

All Change at the Top

25% of military and civilian senior personnel based at the MoD Main Building will be cut over the next two years to form a new senior staff structure. Around 26 civilian and military posts equivalent of Air Cdre and above are to go. Defence Secretary, Philip Hammond said: "At a time when we are making difficult decisions about Defence spending we cannot ignore the volume of posts at the top...More information »

Rumours surrounding the Joint Strike Fighter

In the Times, Telegraph and Financial Times there are reports that the MoD is considering changing its mind over which variant of the Joint Strike Fighter to purchase. In response the MoD has said: "As part of this process we are reviewing all programmes to validate costs and ensure risks are properly managed. The Defence Secretary expects to announce the outcome to Parliament before Easter...More information »