Richard Knighton
Sir Richard John Knighton is a British engineer and a senior officer in the Royal Air Force (RAF). He has served as Chief of the Defence Staff since September 2025.
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Jun 6, 2026
Lean Left
Chief of the defence staff has warned publicly that the UK is running out of time to strengthen its defences against Russia, adding weight to MPs criticising government delays to the defence plan.
From a Labour perspective, Knighton's warning is uncomfortable because it implies the Starmer government inherited a broken defence posture from the Tories but has been too slow to publish a credible plan, exposing the party to charges of complacency on national security.