Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Minister for the Armed Forces)
Responsibilities
- implementation of relevant SDR Vision and Recommendations
- oversight of Military Strategic Headquarters (MSHQ)
- legislation (including Armed Forces Bill)
- Northern Ireland Legacy
- Ukraine support – operations
- autonomy and drones, including Drone Centre of Excellence
- Force Posture and Deployment
- Intelligence
- Global Operational policy and commitments
- North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) operations and planning
- crisis response
- Permanent Joint Operational Bases and Overseas Bases (including Cyprus, Falkland Islands and Gibraltar)
- Military Aid to Civilian Authority (MACA)
- Homeland Defence
- UN Peacekeeping and Human Security Call Out Orders
- Overseas Security and Justice Assistance Reports
Current role holder
Louise Sandher-Jones MP
Louise Sandher-Jones grew up in Leicestershire and studied Chinese at the University of Edinburgh. She was elected the MP for North East Derbyshire in 2024 and appointed Minister for Veterans and People in the Ministry of Defence in September 2025.
After a brief stint in the Civil Service, she joined the military in 2013, commissioning into the Intelligence Corps. She was based in Germany and the UK and deployed on operations in Afghanistan.
She left the Army in 2020 and spent short spells in journalism and banking before overseeing intelligence and latterly product development at a company specialising in analysing the impact of natural disasters imagery.
She is married to Jeevun Sandher and enjoys walking in the Peak District with her dog, Nugget.
Previous holders of this role
Alistair Carns DSO OBE MC MP
2025 to 2026
Luke Pollard MP
2024 to 2025