The Lord West of Spithead | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2020 | |
| Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Security and Counter-Terrorism | |
| In office 28 June 2007 – 11 May 2010 | |
| Prime Minister | Gordon Brown |
| Preceded by | Tony McNulty |
| Succeeded by | The Baroness Neville-Jones |
| First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff | |
| In office September 2002 – February 2006 | |
| Prime Minister | Tony Blair |
| Preceded by | Sir Nigel Essenhigh |
| Succeeded by | Sir Jonathon Band |
| Chancellor ofSolent University | |
| In office 28 June 2006 – 1 October 2018 | |
| Deputy | Professor Graham Baldwin |
| Succeeded by | Theo Paphitis |
| Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal | |
| Assumed office 9 July 2007 Life Peerage | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1948-04-21)21 April 1948 (age 77) London, United Kingdom |
| Political party | Labour |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Branch | Royal Navy |
| Years | 1965–2006 |
| Rank | Admiral |
| Commands | First Sea Lord Commander-in-Chief Fleet Chief of Defence Intelligence COMUKTG Director of Naval Staff Duties HMS Bristol HMS Ardent HMSYarnton |
| Wars | Falklands War Iraq War |
| Awards | |
Alan William John West, Baron West of Spithead,GCB, DSC, PC (born 21 April 1948) is a retiredadmiral of theRoyal Navy and formerly, from June 2007 to May 2010, aLabourParliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the BritishHome Office with responsibility for security and a security advisor to Prime MinisterGordon Brown. Prior to his ministerial appointment, he wasFirst Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff from 2002 to 2006.
West was born on 21 April 1948 inLambeth,London, and was educated atWindsor Grammar School andClydebank High School.[1] He joinedBritannia Royal Naval College in 1965 and served inHMSAlbion during her standby duty for theNigerian Civil War and circumnavigated the globe inHMSWhitby, taking part in theBeira Patrol. He was confirmed as asub-lieutenant on 1 September 1969,[2] and promoted tolieutenant on 1 May 1970.[3] After his command of theTon-class minesweeper HMSYarnton in Hong Kong in 1973, he qualified as a principal warfare officer in 1975 and then served as operations officer in the frigateHMSJuno in 1976 and then the frigateHMSAmbuscade in 1977.[1] Promoted tolieutenant commander on 1 April 1978,[4] he attended theRoyal Navy Staff College that year and then qualified as an advanced warfare officer before being posted to thedestroyerHMSNorfolk in 1979.[1]
In 1980 he was promoted tocommander and took command of thefrigateHMSArdent,[1] and deployed to theIndian Ocean taking part in the firstArmilla Patrol. In 1982 he laid a wreath offNorway, on the spot inside theArctic Circle where the previousArdent had been sunk in 1940 by the German battleshipsScharnhorst andGneisenau. Shortly after, the ship deployed to theSouth Atlantic for theFalklands War,[5] where she was sunk inFalkland Sound on 21 May during the successful retaking of the islands.[6] West was the last to leave the sinking ship and was subsequently awarded theDistinguished Service Cross for his leadership.[7] West led the victory parade through the City of London on return from the Falkland Islands. He remains the President of the HMS Ardent Association.[8] He was promoted tocaptain on 30 June 1985.[9]
In 1986, while working on the Naval Staff at the Ministry of Defence, West left documents detailing large cuts to the Navy on a canal towpath. These documents were recovered and then published by a journalist fromThe Mail on Sunday. At a subsequent court martial West pleaded guilty to charges of negligence and breaching security.[10] He explained that they had fallen from his coat pocket whilst walking a friend's dog. West was issued with a severe reprimand, the second lightest sentence available. The reprimand was time expired before he became eligible for promotion to flag rank.[11]
In 1987 he was given command ofHMSBristol[1] and the Dartmouth training squadron in March of that year and led the study into employment of women at sea before spending three years as head of naval intelligence[1] rewriting the NATO intelligence manual after the collapse of theSoviet Union. In 1992 he attended theRoyal College of Defence Studies,[1] where he produced a Seaford House Paper on why the UK needed a 'Grand Strategy'. He attended the Higher Command and Staff Course at theStaff College, Camberley in 1993 before being promoted tocommodore and becomingDirector of Naval Staff Duties at theMinistry of Defence later that year.[1]
West becamerear admiral on appointment asNaval Secretary in March 1994,[12] responsible for officer appointing and also naval manning and moved its organisation from London to Portsmouth. In February 1996 he becameCommander United Kingdom Task Group[1] deploying to the Gulf for the first UK fighter patrols over Iraq (conducted bySea Harrier FA2) and to the South China Sea to cover the withdrawal from Hong Kong (Operation OceanWave).[13]
In October 1997 he was promoted tovice admiral andChief of Defence Intelligence.[1] He was responsible for the move of theIntelligence school fromAshford toChicksands, and provision of intelligence to the Chiefs of Staff on operations inSierra Leone,East Timor,Operation Desert Fox inIraq, and theKosovo War. West was created aKnight Commander of the Order of the Bath in the2000 New Year Honours.[14] He became a fulladmiral in November 2000 when he took up the post ofCommander-in-Chief Fleet,NATO Commander-in-Chief East Atlantic and NATO CommanderAllied Naval Forces North.[1] West co-ordinated the naval response to theSeptember 11 attacks in the NorthArabian Sea andAfghanistan.[15]
West was appointed asFirst Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff in September 2002.[1] He was also a member of theDefence Council andAdmiralty Board as well asFirst and Principal Naval Aide-de-Camp tothe Queen.[1] In his role he had overall responsibility for fighting effectiveness and morale of the Naval Service (Royal Navy, Royal Marines, Royal Fleet Auxiliary and medical services) for the successful operations on the US right flank in theinvasion of Iraq.[16]
During his time as First Sea Lord, West implemented the defence white paper entitledDelivering Security in a Changing World which proposed cutting threeType 23 frigates, threeType 42 destroyers, four nuclear submarines, six minehunters and reducing the planned purchase ofType 45 destroyers from twelve to eight.[17] In a message to the Royal Navy, West said "We must continue the shift in emphasis away from measuring strength in terms of hull numbers and towards the delivery of military effects... I am confident that these changes will leave the Navy better organised and equipped to face the challenges of the future."[18]
In 2004, he appeared on BBC Radio 4 and spoke aboutTrafalgar 200.[19] Trafalgar 200 was a celebration of the 200th anniversary of theBattle of Trafalgar. It saw an international fleet in theSolent reviewed by Queen Elizabeth II and the First Sea Lord. West led the demand by the Royal Navy for a major ceremony. He is credited with persuading the government to make the event include a large-scale fleet review.[6] In 2005 he served as the chief mourner at a reenactment ofHoratio Nelson's funeral.[20] In the2004 New Year Honours, he was advanced to aKnight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath.[21] He completed his term as First Sea Lord on 6 February 2006 and was succeeded by AdmiralSir Jonathon Band.[22]
West was installed as the first Chancellor forSouthampton Solent University (formerly Southampton Institute and more recently Solent University) on 28 June 2006,[23][24] appointed to the board of theImperial War Museum on 6 July 2006[25] and made chairman of the advisory board of defence contractorQinetiQ in October 2006.[26] West left his role at Southampton Solent University in summer 2018 after the graduation ceremonies.[27]
In April 2010 West also became patron of theDocklands Sinfonia symphony orchestra.[28] In 2014 he presented the 15-part BBC Radio 4 series "Britain at Sea".[29] He has been, since at least November 2014, a member of theHenry Jackson Society's Political Council.[30] He is also a non-executive chairman of Spearfish Maritime Security.[31]
On 29 June 2007, West was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at theBritishHome Office, with responsibility for security in the administration of Gordon Brown, and that same day Brown announced that West was to be created alife peer. On 9 July 2007, he was createdBaron West of Spithead, ofSeaview in the County ofIsle of Wight,[32] and took his seat in theHouse of Lords. In November 2007 he told theBBC Radio 4Today programme that he was not "totally convinced" of the need for 42-day detention (without trial) of terrorist suspects. But less than two hours later, following a meeting with theprime minister, he said he was "convinced" of the need for the new legislation. The incident was an embarrassment for the government, particularly as West was theminister charged with navigating the controversialCounter-Terrorism Act 2008 through the House of Lords.[33] During his time with the Home Office, he produced the United Kingdom's first-ever National Security Strategy (as trailed in his Seaford House paper of 1992) and Cyber Security strategy as well as formulating a series of other new strategies: the counter-terrorist policy, cyber security, chemical, biological radiological and nuclear security, science and technology for countering internationalterrorism and guidance for local government in enhancing the security of crowded places.[24] In May 2010, Lord West departed theHome Office.[34]
In September 2011, he contributed to a book entitledWhat Next for Labour? Ideas for a New Generation; in his piece he highlights his view thatdefence spending underTony Blair was insufficient.[35] In August 2014, West was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter toThe Guardian opposingScottish independence in the run-up to September'sreferendum on that issue.[36]
In 2014, he challengedMichael Gove to a boxing match after Gove's reported comments ahead of the centenary commemorations that left-wing academics were spreading unpatriotic myths about theFirst World War via programmes likeBlackadder.[37]
In the wake of the June 2015Sousse attack, he said Britain must step up the "propaganda war" against theIslamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). "They are running rings around us in terms of the social media they are putting out." He also suggested the West should consider working with Syrian presidentBashar al-Assad, whom he qualified as a "loathsome man", while he called for Britain to consider joining the US in conducting air strikes against ISIL targets in Syria.[38][39]
In January 2016, following news emerging about serious power and propulsion problems with the Royal NavyType 45 destroyer, West argued it was a "national disgrace" that the Navy only had 19 destroyers and frigates.[40] In August 2016, he described the issues facing the MoD post-Brexit as a "perfect storm", insisting that there were great difficulties for the British military as a result of Britain's exit from theEuropean Union.[41]
In April 2018, he expressed doubts as to whether Assad's government perpetrated the allegedDouma chemical attack and dismissed theWhite Helmets as having "a history of doing propaganda for the opposition forces in Syria". On BBC Television News he said, "When I was Chief of Defence Intelligence I had huge pressure put on me politically to try and say that our bombing campaign in Bosnia was achieving all sorts of things which it wasn't. I was put under huge pressure. So I know the things that can happen with 'intelligence', and I would just like to be absolutely sure."[42][43][44][45]
In October 2020, he said migrants arriving in the UK across theEnglish Channel should be put in "a concentrated place, whether it's a camp or whatever", prompting outrage.[46]
West's commentaries on foreign militaries, such as his assessment on the strategic weaknesses ofRussia's armed forces, have been distributed by news agencies such asTimes Radio.[47]
In 1973, West married Rosemary Anne Linington Childs; they have two sons and one daughter.[1] West said that during one overseas posting in a foreign country, thebugging of communications and accommodation was so widespread that Rosemary would say "Goodnight everybody" before turning off the light to sleep.[48]
West has admitted during security vetting to an extramarital affair,[49] and was forced to respond to rumours in 2007 about his friendship withAnni-Frid Lyngstad of ABBA with "I'm not having an affair with her".[49] Newspaper reports at the time said "He always had an eye for beautiful women"[49] and that he was "a bon viveur, fond of good wine, good food and good chat".[50]
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| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Naval Secretary 1994–1996 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chief of Defence Intelligence 1997–2000 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Commander-in-Chief Fleet 2000–2002 | Succeeded by |
| First Sea Lord 2002–2006 | ||
| Orders of precedence in the United Kingdom | ||
| Preceded by | Gentlemen Baron West of Spithead | Followed by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| People | |
| Other | |
