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Dr Fiona Hill to co-lead major UK Strategic Defence Review

16 July 2024
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Dr Fiona Hill, Chancellor of Durham University

Our Chancellor and distinguished foreign affairs expert, Dr Fiona Hill, has been appointed by the Prime Minister Keir Starmer to co-lead a comprehensive review of the UK Armed Forces. The announcement follows several Durham University alumni and supporters having recently been elected to the House of Commons or taking seats in the House of Lords.

This Strategic Defence Review, commissioned by the Prime Minister and overseen by the Defence Secretary John Healey, will aim to ensure that Britain remains secure at home and strong abroad in an increasingly complex global landscape.

Root and branch review

Fiona joins a team of high-profile reviewers, including Lord Robertson (Review lead), former Defence Secretary and NATO Secretary General, and General Sir Richard Barrons, former Commander Joint Forces Command. Together, they will spearhead this review, which is expected to report in the first half of 2025.

The review will focus on several key areas, including ensuring the UK’s continued leadership in NATO, strengthening homeland security, supporting Ukraine against Russian aggression, modernising and maintaining the nuclear deterrent, and adapting military services and equipment programmes to meet new challenges.

World-class expertise

Fiona is an acclaimed foreign affairs specialist, author and former presidential advisor to George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Donald Trump. She is a widely recognised authority on Russian and European Geopolitics, having researched and published extensively on these subjects. Fiona also serves as a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, a non-profit public policy organisation based in Washington DC.

The review will engage widely across the defence community, inviting submissions from serving and retired members of the Armed Forces, the defence industry, academics, and the general public.

The team of reviewers will be supported by a Defence Review Team of senior experts from both inside and outside the government.

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