Thin Pinstriped Line

  General Sir Gwyn Jenkins has taken over as the professional head of the Royal Navy, the first Royal Marine to occupy the role of “First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff”. This is a move which is to be warmly welcomed, although the General will have many challenges ahead of him during his tenure. While most have welcomed the move, there has been some mild hysteria on social media at the idea of a General heading the Royal Navy – what madness is this? The argument seems to be that apparently because Royal Marines haven’t commanded ships, they are somehow not able to lead the Royal Navy. Such an argument is fatuous nonsense. UK MOD © Crown copyright  The RN is a surprisingly tribal organisation of roughly 30,000 people, with its regular personnel broadly divided into four fighting arms – the Surface Fleet, the Submarine Service, the Fleet Air Arm and the Royal Marines. The surface fleet is the closest to being a ‘generalist’ branch, although in its own way it is intensel...

  The British Government and the Government of Mauritius have, in principle agreed a deal to hand over sovereignty of the Chagos Archipelago, while retaining the right for British and American forces to continue to operate out of the military base in Diego Garcia. There has been considerable controversy around it in the UK, with it being seen as a form of ‘sell out’ or risk to national security for British and American interests, while benefitting China in the long run. Concerns have also been raised about the cost of the arrangements, with the UK paying an average of £101m per year to retain the site over 99 years. The counter view to this is that the deal represents a pragmatic outcome that ensures the UK retains access to the island facilities, while ensuring it remains on the right side of international law.   From a UK perspective the long-term legality of sovereignty had been under challenge following a series of rulings by the International Court of Justice , and the...