The current vice-chief of the defence staff, Sir Stuart Peach, is to step up and succeed Sir Nick Houghton as head of the armed forces later this year, the Ministry of Defence has announced.
Peach joined the Royal Air force in 1977, and has seen service in Iraq, Hong Kong and Germany. Previous roles include commander of Joint Forces Command, deputy chair of the joint intelligence committee, and director general of intelligence at the MoD.
Confirming Peach's appointment, defence secretary Michael Fallon said: “Sir Stuart has been an outstanding VCDS and I look forward to working closely with him in taking the fight to Daesh and ensuring we have the best armed forces to keep Britain safe.”
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According to a profile of Peach on GOV.UK, the incoming armed forces chief has a “passion for amateur cooking and military history”.
He will succeed Houghton when the current chief of the defence staff steps down in the summer after three years in the role.
Houghton sparked controversy late last year after saying he would be “worried” if the anti-nuclear Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn became prime minister. Corbyn responded by saying it was “a matter of serious concern” that Houghton had involved himself in a political debate.
