Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the water, the leadership speculation starts stirring again. It’s not Gordon Brown who’s the subject of it this time, though – but rather the defence chief, Air Marshall Sir Jock Stirrup, who, according to today’s Times, is due for the chop after the next election. Either his deputy, Nick Houghton, or the Army chief, David Richards, are likely to fill the breach.
The story brings to the surface long-simmering tensions at the top of the military establishment about Sir Jock’s leadership. The Times says that Gordon Brown did not force out the defence chief because he did not want more rowing with the military after General Richard Dannat’s retirement.
But it is also true that, in Sir Jock, the Prime Minister had an officer who was keen to rebuild links with the political class – a priority for the Cabinet Secretary Sir Gus O’Donnell, too, who was said to be appalled at General Dannatt’s behaviour.
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