Defence Committee
17 March 2026
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Defence Committee House of Commons
00:13 - 01:17
Speaker 1
Order. Order. A court order today's House of Commons Defense Committee evidence session on the Ministry of Defense annual report and accounts twenty twenty four twenty five. It is a pleasure to welcome our esteemed panel today, all of whom have featured in previous evidence sessions. We have with us Jeremy Poplington, the permanent secretary at the Ministry of Defense, and we have Rupert Pierce, the national armaments director at the Ministry of Defense, as well as Air Marshal Tim Jones, who's the deputy chief of the defense staff for force development at the Ministry of Defense.
And it is also a delight to welcome Anine Blackmore, the director general finance at the Ministry of Defense. Ladies and gents, I'll kick off, first of all, with your good self, permanent secretary. Obviously, it's now been three months since you took charge as the permanent secretary at the Ministry of Defense. What are your initial impressions of the MOD and its way of working?
01:18 - 02:22
Speaker 2
Can I say it's a privilege to do the job? I'm delighted to be here today. I am struck by the pride and commitment of the people working in the Ministry of Defense, both those in uniform and civilians as well. There is deep expertise and talent in the department, a real willingness to go the extra mile to overcome obstacles, to get things done. And I've really seen the determination and ingenuity and bravery as well of our military.
I've seen that in Main Building, in Northwood, in Portsmouth, in High Wycombe, and also on well, overseas as well. It's clear the demands on the department are rising. The demands on defense are rising. Right now, our armed forces are defending our people, our interests, and our allies in The Middle East. We're continuing to provide Ukraine with equipment and training and have that leadership role in the coalition of the willing.
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