RUSI Analysis Podcasts

Part Six: General Sir Mike Jackson, Air Chief Marshal Sir Brian Burridge and Rear Admiral Chris Parry discuss the nexus between political debate and the consensus on the Armed Forces. 

Part Five: Continuing their interview, General Sir Mike Jackson, Air Chief Marshal Sir Brian Burridge and Rear Admiral Chris Parry outline what the defence spending priorities should be for an incoming government on 6 May. 

Part Four: Continuing their interview, General Sir Mike Jackson, Air Chief Marshal Sir Brian Burridge and Rear Admiral Chris Parry explore what commitments any government will have to caring for our service men and women.

Part Three: Ahead of the British elections on 6 May, senior former military leaders give their assessment of the issues facing defence and security. In this interview, General Sir Mike Jackson, Air Chief Marshal Sir Brian Burridge and Rear Admiral Chris Parry explore the public perception's to Britain's defence.

Part Two: Will the next government and the British public have the staying power to complete the job in Afghanistan? Ahead of the British elections on 6 May, senior former military leaders give their assessment of the issues facing defence and security. General Sir Mike Jackson, Air Chief Marshal Sir Brian Burridge and Rear Admiral Chris Parry take part in the interview.

Part One: Ahead of the British elections on 6 May, senior former military leaders give their assessment of the issues facing defence and security. General Sir Mike Jackson, Air Chief Marshal Sir Brian Burridge and Rear Admiral Chris Parry take part in the interview.

The Rt Hon Bob Ainsworth, Secretary of State for Defence, outlined his party’s policy of defence in advance of the General Election and subsequent Strategic Defence Review.

Bob Ainsworth was appointed Secretary of State for Defence on 5 June 2009. A Coventry trade unionist and former local councillor with strong roots in the city, he was elected Member of Parliament for Coventry North East in 1992. He was a long serving Whip in both Opposition and Government before he was promoted to his first ministerial position after Peter Mandelson's second resignation in January 2001.

He served five months as junior minister in the Department for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, and after the General Election he was moved to the Home Office with responsibility for Anti-drugs Co-ordination and Organised Crime. In the reshuffle of June 2003, he returned to the Whips’ Office on promotion to Deputy Chief Whip. He served as Minister of State for the Armed Forces prior to his current appointment.

The Rt Hon Sir Malcolm Rifkind KCMG QC MP, Conservative Member of Parliament for Kensington and Chelsea, outlined his party’s policy of defence in advance of the General Election and subsequent Strategic Defence Review.

Sir Malcolm Rifkind was elected as MP for Pentlands in 1974 and represented that constituency until 1997. He became a member of the Cabinet in 1986 as Secretary of State for Scotland. In 1990 he became Secretary of State for Transport and in 1992 Secretary of State for Defence. From 1995 to 1997 he was Foreign Secretary. He served as the Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and Welfare Reform until December 2005 when he chose to return to the backbenches. He has been selected to fight the new Kensington constituency at the next General Election.

He has also been active in a number of voluntary organisations. Sir Malcolm is a member of the Dulverton Trust, a Vice President of Combat Stress and a Patron of Raleigh International. He has served on the Court of Edinburgh University and is an honorary colonel. He is also a member of the Queen's Bodyguard of the Royal Company of Archers.

Air Chief Marshal Dike discusses Nigeria's quest for enduring security in Africa, addressing the framework for Nigeria's contribution to peace and security and her role in the regional security architecture.

Air Chief Marshal Paul Dike is currently Chief of Defence Staff of the Nigeria Armed Forces. He is also Chairman of the Committee of ECOWAS Chiefs of Defence Staff. His previous posts have included Chief of Air Staff (Nigeria Air Force); Commander of the Presidential Air Fleet; and Commander of the ECOMOG Air Detachment in Freetown, Sierra Leone. His awards include the National Honour Award; Forces Service Star and Distinguished Service Star.

For more info: http://www.rusi.org/events/past/ref:E4B8E314490E6E/

In the presence of HRH The Duke of Gloucester, RUSI will launch a series of public lectures exploring flood risk and the built environment. The inaugural lecture was given by Robert Runcie, Director of Flood and Coastal Risk Management at the Environment Agency.

The lecture discussed the medium and long-term strategy for managing flood risk and enhancing flood resilience in the United Kingdom and will address the implementation of the recommendations made by The Pitt Review. This formal presentation was followed by a panel discussion in which members of the Inter Institutional Flood Risk Management Group posed questions to Mr Runcie, following which the discussion will be opened up to the wider audience.