Andy assumed the role of Temporary Chief Constable last July following the untimely death of Alf Hitchcock.

The MDP provides a range of specialist armed policing skills and capabilities that help to ensure the protection of Defence people, assets, information and the Defence estate. As Chief Constable, Andy will lead the MDP’s delivery of armed policing services to a range of Defence and external customers.

Andy joined the MDP in September 2015 as the Deputy Chief Constable, having previously served as the Deputy Chief Constable of Hertfordshire Constabulary. He has overseen the MDP’s ongoing programme of organisational reform and development, including the implementation of the new MDP Operational Policing Model and the MDP’s deployments under Operation Temperer.

Julie Taylor, Director General Head Office and Commissioning Services said:

I am delighted that Andy has been appointed as Chief Constable for the MDP. Having worked for the Force since 2015 he has a comprehensive and effective understanding of the emerging threats facing our Armed Forces and the country. He’ll continue to take the Force from strength-to-strength and I look forward to continuing to work with him closely.

Sir Brian Burridge, Chair of the MOD Police Committee, said:

As the new Chief Constable of the MOD’s specialist police force, Andy Adams brings an extensive wealth of experience from across the spectrum of policing. This will be vital in transforming the MDP in order to meet tomorrow’s complex security challenges.

Andy Adams, Chief Constable of the MDP, said:

I am absolutely thrilled to have been appointed as the Chief Constable of the MDP and look forward to leading the Force and continuing our important work, protecting our people at home and overseas.
“I’d also like to take the opportunity to thank everyone who has supported me whilst in the role of Temporary Chief Constable.

Andy formally takes up post with immediate effect.

They will be joined at the National Memorial Arboretum, Staffordshire, by nearly 300 family members and friends who lost loved ones in terrorist attacks abroad.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, will lead the ceremony to dedicate the memorial, entitled Still Water, which was designed by Alison Wilding and Adam Kershaw.

The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Boris Johnson, Home Secretary Sajid Javid and Tobias Ellwood, Minister for Defence People and Veterans, who has led on the delivery of the Memorial and whose brother was killed in the 2002 Bali bombing will also attend.

Tobias Ellwood, Minister for Defence People and Veterans said:

Today is a day when we remember the lives of those who were tragically taken in terrorist attacks abroad.

I know from personal experience that in times of pain we must come together to support and help one another. This memorial stands as a symbol of our unity against violence and hatred and will be a peaceful space for families to remember their loved ones.

It is hoped that the memorial will become a place of reflection, remembrance and contemplation for anyone who has been affected by terrorism.

2nd Lieutenant (Lt) Eric Henderson who served with the 8th (City of London) London Regiment ‘Post Office Rifles’, has finally been laid to rest after he was killed on the first day of the Battle of Messines during WW1. 2nd Lt Henderson was buried during a moving ceremony at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) Oak Dump Cemetery, near Ypres in Belgium.

The service, organised by the MOD’s Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre (JCCC), part of Defence Business Services, was held on Wednesday 16 May 2018 and was conducted by the Reverend Thomas Hiney CF, Chaplain to the 19 Royal Artillery Regiment.

Nicola Nash, JCCC said:

It’s a great honour to be here today to lay this brave man to rest, who fought so courageously alongside his comrades. I am particularly grateful that Eric’s family were able to be here to witness him being finally laid to rest after so many years.

Although over 100 years have passed since Eric’s death, we passionately believe in continuing to honour his sacrifice and the sacrifice of all members of the Armed Forces who are lost in battle.

2nd Lt Henderson initially joined the 28th Battalion London Regiment in July 1915 as a Private. He was soon commissioned as a 2ndLieutenant and eventually joined the 8th Battalion London Regiment, also known as the Post Office Rifles.

2nd Lt Henderson was killed in action on 7 June 1917 aged 21 years old, near the village of Messines in West Flanders, Belgium. He was found a century later during road works in the area of Eekhofstraat, near Voormezele in Belgium. He was found with several artefacts including a silver coin that was engraved with ‘2nd Lt. Eric Henderson, London Regiment’. Further research, conducted by the JCCC, showed that the location of the soldier was exactly where the Oak Reserve Line was during the Battle of Messines, which corresponded with the location of Eric’s regiment on the day of his death.

The beginning of the Battle of Messines was signalled by the explosion of 19 mines that had been laid under German lines. The shock of the explosion was overwhelming and devastating to the enemy. The objectives of the Post Office Rifles on the day were to capture portions of the four lines known as Oak Trench, Oak Support, Oak Reserve and Oak Switch as well as a formidable strongpoint known as the ‘Dammstrasse’. Many of the causalities of the Battalion were due to machine-gun fire from the White Chateau, one of the objectives of the 7th Battalion. Some of the 1/8th took part in the attack on this Chateau, and materially assisted in its capture.

Family members who paid their respects to 2nd Lt Henderson included his three great nieces, Lucy Cocup, Sarah Foot and Judith Leyman, as well as members of their own families.

Mrs Judith Leyman, Eric’s great niece, said on behalf of the family:

Being here in Ypres, and knowing Eric’s resting place, means an awful lot to us. He wasn’t a dusty memory in our family, but part of our mental landscape.

Reverend Thomas Hiney CF said:

These war cemeteries of northern France and Belgium are one of the wonders of the modern world. To add to one is of course poignant. These stories still feel very alive to our national memory.

Sub Lieutenant Harry Lewis from the British Embassy in The Hague was also in attendance. Current members of the Royal Artillery Regiment paid their own tribute by providing the bearer and firing party.

Mel Donnelly, CWGC Commemorations Manager said:

For almost a century, 2nd Lieutenant Eric Henderson was remembered with honour on the CWGC’s Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial to the Missing – one of tens of thousands of young men whom the fortune of war denied a known grave. When the memorial was unveiled in 1927, the assembled mourners were told ‘He is not missing. He is here’. Today, thanks to the efforts of many, that statement has new meaning for Eric and his family.

A new headstone bearing 2nd Lt Henderson’s name has been provided by the CWGC, who will now care for his final resting place in perpetuity.

Gavin Williamson confirmed the imminent arrival of the F-35 Lightning stealth jets to RAF Marham in Norfolk during an event at RAF Coningsby to mark the 75th anniversary of the famous Dambusters raid of World War II.

The aircraft are due to fly across the Atlantic Ocean from the United States with several air-to-air refuelling serials. They will be flown by members of the newly reformed 617 Squadron which flew, and was immortalised by, the Dambusters mission in 1943.

Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson said:

75 years ago the Dambusters pushed the boundaries of what was possible. That same spirit of innovation continues today as the Dambusters of today prepare to fly the world’s most advanced fighter jet in the skies over the UK.

Just like those Lancasters which played such a vital role in the Second World War, the F-35B Lightning is based on great British design, operating with futuristic technology to adapt to an increasingly dangerous world.

Today’s 617 Squadron is currently training with the UK’s F-35 Lightning jets in America before they start flying to the UK two months ahead of schedule. This provides a good opportunity for support staff to do extra training on the road to the jets being ready for operational service by the end of the year.

617 Squadron’s Commanding Officer, Wing Commander John Butcher, said:

I have the great privilege of leading a jointly manned Squadron made up of the best engineers, mission support personnel and pilots from the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy.

The original Dambuster Squadron did not know what their mission was going to be until the last moment. Yet they had to make sure they were ready and that is as true for us today. The spectrum of missions we can undertake in the F-35 will be huge and we have to make sure we are ready to do whatever is asked of us.

Read the full interview with Wing Commander Butcher which compares todays 617 Squadron with the Dambusters of 1943 here

The F-35B Lightning, multi-role fighter jet is the first to combine radar evading stealth technology with supersonic speeds and short take-off and vertical landing capability. It will be jointly manned by the Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy and can operate from land and sea, forming a vital part of Carrier Strike when operating from the Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers.

617 Squadron, commonly referred to as the ‘Dambusters’, were originally set up for the highly-specialised mission to knock out dams and disrupt industrial production in the Ruhr Valley of Germany.

Wing Commander Guy Gibson hand-picked his bomber crews for the original 617 Squadron, who then went on to deploy the iconic ‘bouncing bomb’ which had to be dropped above the water at an exact height of 60 feet and a speed of 220mph. The crews successfully managed to breach the Mohne and Eder dams.

The team of wounded, injured and sick (WIS) serving military personnel and veterans came together for the first time at Horse Guards Parade, London, this morning. They were joined by Prime Minister Theresa May who posed with the competitors for the first official team photograph and wished them luck for the Games in October.

The competitors, 64% of whom are new to Invictus, were also joined by Defence Ministers Gavin Williamson and Tobias Ellwood and former Team UK captains, including Paralympic Bronze medallist Dave Henson.

Defence Secretary, Gavin Williamson said:

I am delighted that competitors have been chosen to represent the UK at the next Invictus Games and look forward to following their journey from training camps to Sydney. The Invictus Games serve as a powerful reminder of the ability of sport to inspire and support the recovery of wounded and injured troops and veterans.

More than 451 WIS personnel and veterans applied for one of 72 places available on Team UK. The trials were attended by His Royal Highness Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, in one of their last joint appearances before the Royal Wedding.

The rigorous selection process for Team UK was based on the benefit the Invictus Games will give an individual as part of their recovery, combined with performance and commitment to training.

The 2018 UK Team Captain was also named this morning as Mark “Dot” Perkins, the former Royal Signals Corporal was discharged in 2005 and now works as a civil servant rehabilitating injured soldiers. He will compete in cycling and rowing. He said:

There are few moments in one’s life when an event occurs that truly transforms your life, the Invictus Games is it. They are all about empowerment, they empower us all to fight the chains of physical disability, to fight the intangible burden of mental illness and they empower us to focus on being the best we can be despite the scars that we all now wear.

Whilst participating in the games our scars are like Medals that we can proudly display rather than hide in shame or embarrassment. Invictus allows us to be judged on what we can achieve, rather than what we can’t. To simply be selected for Team UK was an amazing achievement. To then be further selected as the Captain and to represent these incredibly brave men and women is extremely humbling, it is a huge privilege to be given this honour.

The team will compete in 11 sports: Athletics, Archery, Wheelchair Basketball, Cycling, Powerlifting, Indoor Rowing, Wheelchair Rugby, Swimming, Sitting Volleyball, Wheelchair Tennis and a new sport for 2018, Sailing.

The Royal British Legion will be supporting the friends and family, including carers, of Team UK as part of its work to recognise the vital and valuable contribution that they make to the recovery of WIS Service personnel and veterans.

The UK delegation to the Invictus Games Sydney 2018 is being delivered by a partnership comprising the Ministry of Defence (MOD), Help for Heroes, and the Royal British Legion.