Early life and education
Martin, who was privately educated, has an undergraduate degree in biological sciences from the University of Oxford [3] and a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in war studies from King's College London, which he completed in 2013 with a thesis titled "War on its Head: An Oral History of the Helmandi Conflict 1978-2012". [4]
As of 2024, he is a senior visiting research fellow at King's College London. [3]
Martin’s first job was as a dishwasher in a hotel when he was 16 years old [5] .
Military service
On 1 August 2004, Martin was commissioned into the General List of the Territorial Army as a second lieutenant (on probation). [6] On 26 November 2006, he transferred to the Royal Yeomanry. [7] His commission was confirmed on 26 November 2006 with seniority in the rank of second lieutenant from 26 November 2005. [8] He was promoted to lieutenant on 26 November 2007. [9] He was promoted to captain on 22 April 2010 with seniority from 15 June 2009. [10] He transferred to the Intelligence Corps on 19 August 2013. [11]
Martin worked as a Political Officer while serving on tour in the Helmand Province and dealt directly with the Taliban [12] . Martin was trained to fluency in Pushtu and created, designed, and implemented the British Military’s Cultural Advisor programme. The programme trained Pushtu-speaking British speaking officers to develop and leverage relationships with Afghan community leaders, including members of the Taliban. Martin also advised four UK commanders of the Task Force Helmand on local population dynamics [13] .
While serving, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) commissioned Martin to write a PhD thesis on recent history and conflict in Helmand, Afghanistan. The MoD tried to block the publication of Martin’s critical account of British involvement, claiming that its publication was in breach of the Official Secrets Act. Martin resigned from his commission in 2014 so he could publish the full account in his book 'An intimate war: an oral history of the Helmand conflict, 1978-2012' [14] .
Parliamentary career
Martin is campaigning to improve local GP services, the town centre of Tunbridge Wells, as well as ensure there is sufficient infrastructure for new housing. He is also campaigning to increase Britain’s defence capabilities and believes that successive governments have failed in their defence and security strategies [21] .
Martin made his maiden speech titled An Ode to Tunbridge Wells on the 3rd September 2024, in which he lauded the famous ability of ‘Tunbridge Wellians’ to write to newspaper letter pages with their views. He also spoke of the upcoming 2024 Subbuteo World Cup that was hosted in Tunbridge Wells. The popular tabletop football game was originally invented in his constituency and early production began in Langton Green [22] [23] [24] .
Referring to his time as a former British Army Officer, Martin warned against Britain lacking a national geopolitical strategy and defence capabilities, and criticised successive British Governments for having “no strategy” during its War in Afghanistan [22] .
In January 2025 Martin brought a motion to Parliament calling on the Government to look at seizing $300 billion in frozen Russian financial assets in held in central banks across Europe to aid Ukraine in the Russo-Ukranian war. MPs voted unanimously in favour of his motion [25] . That followed an open letter led by Martin and signed by British MPs and politicians from allied countries calling for the Government to work out how to seize frozen Russian financial assets [26] .
Martin has been a critic of the Russian regime and its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, which led him to being sanctioned by Russia on the 25th April 2025 [27] .
Martin tabled an amendment to the Government’s Crime and Policing Bill that sought to bring into force the Protection Against Sex-Based Harassment in Public Act 2023, which criminalises the harassment of women in public [28] . The Act was originally a Private Members Bill sponsored by Martin’s predecessor Greg Clark [29] .
In the House of Commons, Martin regularly raises issues pertaining to defence, national security and businesses [30] .
Defence Select Committee
Martin was appointed member of the Defence Select Committee on the 29th October 2024 [31] . In post, he has criticised the Government’s 2025 Strategic Defence Review, describing it as “jam tomorrow” and saying that it will fail to grow Britain’s “tiny” military, and has said that the Government should increase defence spending to 3% of GDP [32] [33] .
Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy
Martin was appointed member of the Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy on the 6th December 2024 [34] .
Martin referred Reform UK’s Zia Yusuf to the Home Secretary for a possible breach of the terrorism act after Yusuf said that a Reform UK government would look at giving money to the Taliban as part of a migrant returns agreement [35] .
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