Security & Defence

Departmental budgets, the Highways Agency and Gus O'Donnell on the Queen's VE day plans make our regular round-up of Whitehall in the headlines

Think tank RUSI says UK unlikely to meet 2% Nato target

Committee urges greater diversity in intelligence agencies

Independent Commission for Aid Impact says security and justice work lacks focus, but praises more targeted efforts in Malawi and Bangladesh

Solent Gateway Limited named as MoD favourite to manage military port near Southampton

Defence committee chair stresses warning over Russian expertise

Joint Committee on National Security Strategy says failure to prepare could "damage the quality of the strategy"

Officials tell MPs the MoD has "locked in" £2.3bn of planned £4.1bn savings from support budget

Defence safety regulators to merge into Defence Safety Authority from 1 April 2015

US chief of staff says UK forces could be reduced to support role if Nato pledge is not met

Foreign Affairs Committee warns on impact of FCO staff cuts

As the UK’s first independent chief inspector of borders and immigration, John Vine gave the Home Office a few nasty nips. But don’t read too much into his early departure, he tells Sarah Aston

Sir John confirms he will give evidence to the Foreign Affairs Select Committee on 4 February 

Cabinet secretary says the role he played in Chilcot Inquiry was "very limited"

The Ministry of Justice’s commercial arm bids for contract with Saudi Arabian Prison Service

Once an anonymous Whitehall lawyer, Shami Chakrabarti is now the very public face of Britain’s civil liberties movement – and a woman who inspires admiration and outrage in equal measure. Jess Bowie meets her

Inquiry set up in 2009 to investigate build-up to Iraq war will take “some further months”, Sir John Chilcot says

Management and removal of foreign national offenders comes under fire from Margaret Hodge’s committee

MI5 makes charity’s list of top employers for lesbian, gay and bisexual people

The PM has met security chiefs after saying last night that Britain must “modernise” interception rules 

Increasing security services resources is a priority, says the chancellor 

Jonathan Powell, the former diplomat, chief of staff to Tony Blair and Northern Irish peacebroker, is currently trying to negotiate a ceasefire in Libya. Matt Ross asks him about the FCO, sofa government, and the ups and downs of liberal interventionalism

Lord Levene hails a ‘sea change’ at the MoD