Former Ministry of Defence permanent secretary Sir Stephen Lovegrove has been appointed as the prime minister’s special representative to the AUKUS security partnership.
The role, effective from today, builds on Lovegrove’s previous work as special adviser on the partnership, which brings together Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States and focuses on the Indo-Pacific.
Lovegrove, who served as national security adviser from 2021 to 2022 following his departure from the MoD, was last year tasked with conducting a review of AUKUS. He was asked to identify barriers to success and set out recommendations on how to unlock further areas of opportunity. Lovegrove has now presented his findings to prime minister Keir Starmer and defence secretary John Healey, but they have yet to be made public.
According to the MoD, Lovegrove’s new role will see him support Healey and current national security adviser Jonathan Powell to drive the AUKUS programme forward – including plans to provide new nuclear-powered submarines for Australia. That element of the programme is expected to create 7,000 jobs in Britain.
Healey said AUKUS, which was launched four years ago, is a “historic partnership” that will demonstrate that “defence can be an engine for growth across our three nations while keeping us secure at home, and strong abroad”.
“Sir Stephen is fully committed to ensuring the UK plays a leading role within AUKUS and holds widely respected national security experience,” he said.
“I am very grateful to him for taking up this appointment and look forward to working closely with him and our partners in the US and Australia as we take the AUKUS partnership to new heights.”
Lovegrove said he is “delighted” to take on the new role, which will see him head to Washington, DC this week and then on to Canberra to share the findings of his review.
“When the AUKUS partnership was announced in 2021, it was regarded, rightly, as the most significant capability collaboration since the Mutual Defence Agreement of 1958,” he said.
“Since then, the strategic relevance of AUKUS has only increased. It is a uniquely powerful partnership which will develop and deliver cutting-edge capabilities, help to revitalise Britain’s defence industrial base and provide sustained employment for thousands of people across the UK, US and Australia.”
He added: “I look forward to starting work immediately to help maximise the potential of this vital partnership.”
The Mutual Defence Agreement was a bilateral treaty between the UK and US covering nuclear-weapons cooperation.