Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)
The Ministry of Defence is a ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for implementing the defence policy set by the government and serves as the headquarters of the British Armed Forces.
Officially, its principal objectives are to defend the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and its interests and to strengthen international peace and stability. The MOD also manages day-to-day running of the armed forces, contingency planning and defence procurement.
The expenditure, administration and policy of the MOD are scrutinised by the Defence Select Committee, except for Defence Intelligence which instead falls under the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament.
The Ministry of Defence has been involved in commercial activities; an example of which is their 2025 announcement to supply Norway with warships, the UK's largest warship export deal by value.
History
During the 1920s and 1930s, British civil servants and politicians, looking back at the performance of the state during the First World War, concluded that there was a need for greater co-ordination between the three services that made up the armed forces of the United Kingdom: the Royal Navy, the British Army and the Royal Air Force. The formation of a united ministry of defence was rejected by the coalition government of David Lloyd George in 1921, but the Chiefs of Staff Committee was formed in 1923, for the purposes of inter-service co-ordination. As rearmament became a concern during the 1930s, Stanley Baldwin created the position of Minister for Co-ordination of Defence. Ernle Chatfield, 1st Baron Chatfield held the post until the fall of the Chamberlain government in 1940. His success was limited by his lack of control over the existing Service departments, and his lack of political influence.On forming his government in 1940, Winston Churchill created the office of Minister of Defence, to exercise ministerial control over the Chiefs of Staff Committee and to co-ordinate defence matters. The post was held by the Prime Minister of the day until Clement Attlee's government introduced the Ministry of Defence Act of 1946. After 1946, the three posts of Secretary of State for War, First Lord of the Admiralty, and Secretary of State for Air were formally subordinated to the new Minister of Defence, who had a seat in the Cabinet. The three service ministers – Admiralty, War, Air – remained in direct operational control of their respective services, but ceased to attend Cabinet.
From 1946 to 1964, five Departments of State did the work of the modern Ministry of Defence: the Admiralty, the War Office, the Air Ministry, the Ministry of Aviation, and an earlier form of the Ministry of Defence. The Ministry of Supply existed from 1939 to 1959. Those departments merged in 1964, and the defence functions of the Ministry of Aviation Supply were merged into the Ministry of Defence in 1971. Thereafter the MoD Procurement Executive was established as a separate organisation to supervise all military procurement. The unification of all defence activities under a single ministry was motivated by a desire to curb interservice rivalries and followed the precedent set by the American National Security Act of 1947.
Controversies
Fraud
The most notable fraud conviction has been that of Gordon Foxley, Director of Ammunition Procurement at the Ministry of Defence from 1981 to 1984. Police claimed he received at least £3.5m in total in corrupt payments, such as substantial bribes from overseas arms contractors aiming to influence the allocation of contracts.Germ and chemical warfare tests
A government report covered by The Guardian newspaper in 2002 indicated that between 1940 and 1979, the Ministry of Defence "turned large parts of the country into a giant laboratory to conduct a series of secret germ warfare tests on the public" and many of these tests "involved releasing potentially dangerous chemicals and micro-organisms over vast swathes of the population without the public being told." The Ministry of Defence claims that these trials were to simulate germ warfare and that the tests were harmless. However, families who have been in the area of many of the tests are experiencing children with birth defects and physical and mental handicaps and many are asking for a public inquiry. The report estimated these tests affected millions of people, including during one period between 1961 and 1968 where "more than a million people along the south coast of England, from Torquay to the New Forest, were exposed to bacteria including E.coli and Bacillus globigii, which mimics anthrax." Two scientists commissioned by the Ministry of Defence stated that these trials posed no risk to the public. This was confirmed by Sue Ellison, a representative of the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory at Porton Down who said that the results from these trials "will save lives, should the country or our forces face an attack by chemical and biological weapons."Civil action
In February 2019, former soldier Inoke Momonakaya won £458,000 payout after a legal battle for the racial harassment and bullying he received while serving in the army. In August 2019, A Commons Defence Select Committee report revealed that several female and BAME military staff have raised concerns regarding discrimination, bullying and harassment. In September 2019, two former British army soldiers Nkululeko Zulu and Hani Gue won a racial discrimination claim against the Ministry of Defence. In November 2019, mixed race soldier Mark De Kretser sued MoD for £100k claiming he was subjected to "grindingly repetitive" racist taunts from colleagues.Territorial Army cuts
In October 2009, the MOD was heavily criticised for withdrawing the bi-annual non-operational training £20m budget for the Territorial Army, ending all non-operational training for six months until April 2010. The government eventually backed down and restored the funding. The TA provides a small percentage of the UK's operational troops. Its members train on weekly evenings and monthly weekends, as well as two-week exercises generally annually and occasionally bi-annually for troops doing other courses. The cuts would have meant a significant loss of personnel and would have had adverse effects on recruitment.Overspending
In 2013, it was found that the Ministry of Defence had overspent on its equipment budget by £6.5bn on orders that could take up to 39 years to fulfil. The Ministry of Defence has been criticised in the past for poor management and financial control.Specific examples of overspending include:
- Eight Boeing Chinook HC3 were ordered in 1995 as dedicated special forces helicopters. The aircraft were to cost £259 million and the forecast in-service date was November 1998. However, although delivered in 2001, the Mk3 could not receive airworthiness certificates as it was not possible to certify the avionics software, and would not enter service until 2017. The procurement was described by Edward Leigh, then Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, as "one of the most incompetent procurements of all time" and the National Audit Office issued a scathing report on the affair, stating that the whole programme was likely to cost £500 million.
- In 2010, the Nimrod MRA4 maritime patrol aircraft procurement was cancelled after £3.4 billion had been spent on the programme. In addition there were termination costs which were not disclosed. In January 2011 it was reported by the Financial Times that when the decision was taken to scrap the aircraft, " was still riddled with flaws".
- Failure to manage stocks of supplies and spare parts, resulting in excess inventory being held. The NAO raised concerns about inventory management from 1991 onwards, but a Committee of MPs argued in 2013 that "the root causes of the problem not been addressed". MoD officials accepted that the department had "much to do" but informed MPs that "it has already introduced its own internal control measures to prevent over-ordering of inventory, some of which are showing early signs of success". The Department told the MPs that it was "on track to reduce spending on inventory by £300 million in 2012-13, and that it to reduce it by £500 million a year within the next three years".
Hacking
Ministerial team
The Ministers in the Ministry of Defence are as follows, with cabinet ministers in bold:| Minister | Portrait | Office | Portfolio |
| John Healey MP | Secretary of State for Defence | Overall responsibility for the department; strategic operations and operational strategy, including as a member of the National Security Council; defence planning, programme and resource allocation; strategic international partnerships: US, France, Germany, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf, NATO; nuclear operations, policy and organisations; strategic communications. | |
| Lord Coaker | Minister of State for Defence | Corporate governance including transformation programme; single departmental plan, risk reporting and health, safety and security; EU relations, including Brexit ; engagement with retired senior Defence personnel and wider opinion formers; arms control and counter-proliferation, including strategic export licensing and chemical and biological weapons; UK Hydrographic Office; Statutory Instrument programme; Australia, Asia and Far East defence engagement; Defence Fire and Rescue; safety and security; Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland devolved authorities; ship wrecks, museums and heritage; Ministry of Defence Police; ministerial correspondence and PQs | |
| Luke Pollard MP | Minister of State for Defence Readiness and Industry | Implementation of relevant SDR Vision and Recommendations; oversight of the National Armaments Director Group; departmental communications strategy and reform; armed forces readiness and stockpiles; Defence procurement, including reform and UK Defence Innovation; submarine delivery; Defence Industrial Strategy implementation and growth; Defence Exports Campaign and Office; Defence Readiness Bill; Ukraine support - military aid and industrial partnerships, including HIRST and KINDRED; Defence industry relationships and the Defence Industrial Joint Council; acquisition reform/UK Defence Innovation; climate change and sustainability; Defence estates, accommodation and Defence Infrastructure Organisation; artificial intelligence and innovation; science and technology; Defence Afghanistan Relocation and Assistance Programme including eligibility applications and asylum; oversight of Parliamentary engagement | |
| Alistair Carns MP | Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Armed Forces | Implementation of relevant SDR Vision and Recommendations; oversight of Military Strategic Headquarters ; legislation ; Northern Ireland Legacy; Ukraine support – operations; autonomy and drones, including Drone Centre of Excellence; Force Posture and Deployment; Intelligence; Global Operational policy and commitments; North Atlantic Treaty Organisation operations and planning; crisis response; Permanent Joint Operational Bases and Overseas Bases ; Military Aid to Civilian Authority ; Homeland Defence; UN Peacekeeping and Human Security Call Out Orders; Overseas Security and Justice Assistance Reports | |
| Louise Sandher-Jones MP | Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Veterans and People | Implementation of relevant SDR Vision and Recommendations; recruitment and renewing the contract between the nation and those who serve; Veterans policy and delivery ; Office for Veterans Affairs; Armed Forces Commissioner; Armed Forces People and Families; civilian workforce ; Defence Business Services ; Armed Forces Covenant; retention and incentivisation, including training skills and development; Service resettlement and transition; Reserves; Cadets; Defence culture – including oversight of the Raising our Standards Programme and Equality, Diversity and Inclusion; Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme; Service Justice System and Service Complaints |