Former Navy chief 'blew it' by joining Labour government

A former Royal Navy chief undermined his career by becoming a Labour minister, a former Conservative defence minister has warned.

Lord Trefgarne said Lord West of Spithead had a distinguished military career but “blew it all” by joining Gordon Brown's government in 2007.

Speaking in the House of Lords this morning during a debate on the defence review, the hereditary peer who served in Margaret Thatcher's government as a Foreign Office and defence minister said military personnel should avoid becoming “overtly political”.

“I take the view that chiefs of staff and particularly service chiefs really ought to serve all political parties with equal enthusiasm and equal loyalty,” he said.

He added: “It did sit oddly that an admiral, a former chief of the naval staff, could take a job of a parliamentary under secretary in the Home Office as he did”

Lord West had a long career in the Royal Navy, rising to become Chief of Naval Staff and First Sea Lord in 2002.

In 2007 Gordon Brown elevated him to the House of Lords and made him security and counter-terrorism minister in the Home Office.

Earlier this week several former Royal Navy chiefs including Lord West urged the government to change its mind about scrapping the flagship carrier Ark Royal and the Harrier jets, warning it could leave the Falkland Islands vulnerable.

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