New MoD permanent secretary to ‘drive Strategic Defence Review delivery’
Jeremy Pocklington, the current permanent secretary of the UK government’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, has been appointed as the new head of the Ministry of Defence to lead the UK’s new era of defence.
Pocklington, who will replace David Williams as permanent secretary of the UK’s defence department, comes to the post after the UK government pledged in the Strategic Defence Review to move to a warfighting readiness and accelerate innovation to boost national security.
Announcing the appointment, defence secretary John Healey said this was a “new era for defence” and that Pocklington would help drive the delivery of the Strategic Defence Review and make defence an engine for growth.
The review, which was published in June, set out what prime minister Sir Keir Starmer said was the need for the UK to prepare for a new era of threats following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Read more: UK government defence review pledges to ‘accelerate innovation to a wartime pace’
Boosting innovation in defence and security
Starmer said the “organising principle of government is our security” and set out three changes to realise this focus.
As well as moving the armed forces to a state of warfighting readiness, the prime minister said the UK would work to add to the strength of NATO, and accelerate innovation to a wartime pace.
He stressed innovation was vital to “meet the threats of today and tomorrow”, and said the review would lead to better integration of different parts of the armed services.
“We are more ambitious than ever for the change it can bring, to deliver not just security for our country, but renewal too,” he said in June.
To help meet this challenge, Global Government Forum’s Innovation 2026 conference is expanding to include a stream on sharing innovation in defence and security. Register your interest to attend Innovation 2026 here.
The UK government has also pledged to boost defence spending to 2.5% of GDP from April 2027, which Starmer said would generate a “defence dividend” that will boost jobs creation and opportunity.
He said that this dividend would be delivered by “ensuring that everyone across the United Kingdom has a role to play in this effort… but, also, that everyone has a stake in its success”.
Among the areas of investment set out in the review is a plan to build at least six new munitions factories in the UK, and build up to 12 attack submarines.
Starmer concluded that “the moment has arrived to transform how we defend ourselves, and to renew our nation”, adding: “Because when it comes to security and renewal, nothing works unless we all work together.”
Pocklington brings perm sec experience to MoD
Cabinet secretary Sir Chris Wormald congratulated Pocklington on his appointment and said that his experience in previous permanent secretary roles at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government made him excellently suited to lead the Ministry of Defence at this critical time.
Pocklington said he was looking forward to driving defence reform at “a pivotal time for defence as we transform to deliver the Strategic Defence Review and ensure we protect the UK and our interests”.
He was one of the interviewees in Global Government Forum’s Rewiring the State: Unlocking Government Transformation report.
This major study on driving transformation in government – informed by the most senior UK civil servants – revealed the key enablers to accelerating progress and the barriers that must be tackled if the government is to achieve “a complete rewiring of the British state” to deliver its priorities.
Based on interviews with 12 permanent secretaries – including both Pocklington and Williams – and led by former Cabinet secretary and head of the civil service Lord Gus O’Donnell, the research highlights the systemic enablers needed to deliver government transformation – from digital leadership to joined-up government.
The report sets out four priorities that government should focus on to create the conditions for reform:
- Making digital a core part of government leadership and driving a culture of delivery.
- Building transformational capability at every level, including among senior leaders.
- Unlocking the full power of data and AI through reuse of proven tools, removing the blockers to data sharing, and smarter procurement.
- Driving joined-up government through mechanisms that enable coordination and peer learning across departments. This means re-energising the government’s vision for cross-departmental missions and ensuring that all departments understand how they can contribute.
Download the report: Rewiring the State: Unlocking Government Transformation
Wormald and Healey thank Williams
Healey said that he was “deeply grateful” to Williams for his dedication in leading defence over the last four and a half years, and for his support since Healey became defence secretary in 2024 following the UK general election.
“I have huge respect for his commitment to public service, which I know is widely shared,” he said. “He has helped to deliver on the government’s priorities, and he has put people at the heart of defence. David has so much to be proud of throughout his career and in this role as permanent secretary. I wish him all the very best for the future.”
Wormald thanked Williams “for his excellent leadership of the department over the last four years and his exceptional public service over the last 35 years”.
Pocklington paid tribute to civil servants at the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero for their brilliant work over the last three years, and the government said details on the process to replace Pocklington as the department’s permanent secretary would be announced shortly.
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