The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. As of 1 July 2023, the British Army comprises 76,225 regular full-time personnel, 4,139 Gurkhas, 26,755 volunteer reserve personnel and 4,532 "other personnel", for a total of 111,651.
The British Armed Forces are the military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. They also promote the UK's wider interests, support international peacekeeping efforts and provide humanitarian aid.
The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), formerly and still commonly referred to as the Metropolitan Police, is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and the prevention of crime within the ceremonial county of Greater London. In addition, it is responsible for some specialised matters throughout the United Kingdom, including national counter-terrorism measures and the protection of specific people, such as the monarch and other members of the royal family, members of the government, and other officials.
The Ministry of Defence is the department responsible for implementing the defence policy set by His Majesty's Government, and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces.
Capital punishment in the United Kingdom predates the formation of the UK, having been used within the British Isles from ancient times until the second half of the 20th century. The last executions in the United Kingdom were by hanging, and took place in 1964; capital punishment for murder was suspended in 1965 and finally abolished in 1969. Although unused, the death penalty remained a legally defined punishment for certain offences such as treason until it was completely abolished in 1998; the last execution for treason took place in 1946. In 2004 the 13th Protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights became binding on the United Kingdom; it prohibits the restoration of the death penalty as long as the UK is a party to the convention.
Sir Julian William Hendy Brazier is a British Conservative Party politician. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Canterbury from 1987 to 2017.
Mark Gino Francois is a British politician. A member of the Conservative Party, he has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Rayleigh and Wickford, previously Rayleigh, since the 2001 general election.
Kevan David Jones is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for North Durham since 2001. He served as a defence minister under Gordon Brown, and resigned as a shadow defence minister in January 2016 in protest against a front bench reshuffle by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.
Sir Julian Murray Lewis is a British Conservative Party politician serving as the Member of Parliament (MP), representing New Forest East since 1997. Lewis has served as Chair of the Intelligence and Security Committee since 2020, succeeding Dominic Grieve.
Andrew William Murrison is a British doctor, naval officer and politician. A member of the Conservative Party, he has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for South West Wiltshire, previously Westbury, since the 2001 general election. He has been serving as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence People and Service Families since October 2022.
The minister of national defence is a minister of the Crown in the Cabinet of Canada responsible for the management and direction of all matters relating to the national defence of Canada.
The Defence Select Committee is one of the Select Committees of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, having been established in 1979. It examines the expenditure, administration, and policy of the Ministry of Defence and its associated public bodies, including the British Armed Forces. The Committee's remit does not generally review Defence Intelligence which instead falls under the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament.
The Army Foundation College (AFC) in Harrogate, England, is the sole initial military training unit for British Army recruits who enlist aged between 16 and 17.5 years.
The Military Covenant or Armed Forces Covenant is a term introduced in 2000 into British public life to refer to the mutual obligations between the United Kingdom and the British Armed Forces. According to The Guardian, "it is an informal understanding, rather than a legally enforceable deal, but it is nevertheless treated with great seriousness within the services". It was coined in Soldiering – The Military Covenant (booklet), UK: Ministry of Defence, April 2000, and has now entered political discourse as a way of measuring whether the government and society at large have kept to their obligations to support members of the armed forces.
Oliver Newton Colvile is a British politician. He is a former Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for Plymouth Sutton & Devonport.
Caroline Fiona Ellen Nokes is a British Conservative Party politician. She was first elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Romsey and Southampton North in Hampshire in the 2010 general election. Elected as a Conservative, Nokes had the Conservative whip removed on 3 September 2019 and sat as an independent politician until the whip was restored to her on 29 October.
Thomas Docherty is a British Labour Party politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Dunfermline and West Fife from 2010 until 2015.
The Ministry of Defence Police (MDP) is a civilian special police force which is part of the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence. The MDP's primary responsibilities are to provide armed security and counter terrorism services to designated high-risk areas, as well as uniformed policing and limited investigative services to Ministry of Defence property, personnel, and installations throughout the United Kingdom. The MDP are not military police. Service personnel often refer to the MDP by the nickname "MOD plod".
The Defence Reform Act 2014 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom concerned with defence procurement and the UK Reserve Forces, particularly the Territorial Army. It has 51 sections and seven schedules.
In 2011, the government of the United Kingdom acknowledged that a constitutional convention had developed whereby the House of Commons should have an opportunity to debate the matter before troops are committed. It said that it proposed to observe that convention except when there was an emergency and such action would not be appropriate.
