As the British task force neared the Falkland Islands in 1982, cabinet secretary Sir Robert Armstrong sent prime minister Margaret Thatcher a briefing note raising the question of whether the UK should consider ceding some British territory in the south Atlantic to the Argentinians, documents released under the 30 year rule reveal.

Jon Thompson

Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Defence

Permanent Secretary, Department for International Development

Simon Fraser

Permanent Secretary, Foreign and Commonwealth Office

As the National Security Council (NSC) has been evolving, the Home Office has been “looking at the types of subjects it has been taking”, home secretary Teresa May told the Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy on Monday.

The Ministry of Defence is struggling to build a financial management system that determines a “single version of the financial truth” and there is a “high risk to delivery” of the department’s strategy for setting out clear management information (MI), according to the Defence Review Annual Report published yesterday by Lord Levene.

The Ministry of Defence is struggling to build a financial management system that determines a “single version of the financial truth” and there is a “high risk to delivery” of the department’s strategy for setting out clear management information (MI), according to the Defence Review Annual Report published yesterday by Lord Levene.

The sale of Ministry of Defence (MoD) radio frequences could raise £1bn, the Financial Times reported this week. Two radio bands are being sold, with two industry experts telling the newspaper that each is likely to net £4-500m.

A gathering of civil service chiefs from around the world has identified a need for western governments to strengthen their horizon-scanning and strategic planning capabilities, with former cabinet secretary Lord O’Donnell calling for the UK to commission think tanks to develop policy on some of the long-term issues that it’s “difficult” for governments to tackle.

The Ministry of Defence’s procurement arm – Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) – can only continue to offer current levels of service for the department if some jobs are outsourced, its boss Bernard Gray, chief of defence materiel, told the Commons’ Defence Committee yesterday.

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