Major General Matthew Jones OBE has been appointed as the UK’s next Chief of Defence Intelligence, taking up the role in summer 2026 following approval from His Majesty the King.
The appointment was confirmed by the Ministry of Defence, with Major General Jones promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General. He will succeed Adrian Bird, who steps down after leading Defence Intelligence through a period of major reform.
Jones currently serves as Director of Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance, where he is responsible for intelligence collection, capability development, training and counter-intelligence. His career spans more than 30 years, including operational deployments to Afghanistan, Iraq and across the Middle East, alongside senior intelligence and command roles within Defence.
The appointment comes as the Ministry of Defence continues to implement changes set out in the Strategic Defence Review. In December, Defence established the new Military Intelligence Services, bringing intelligence units and organisations across Defence under a single structure for the first time. The reforms are intended to speed up how intelligence is gathered, analysed and shared across the Armed Forces, government and international partners.
Alongside the creation of Military Intelligence Services, Defence also stood up a new Defence Counter-Intelligence Unit last year. The changes follow a sharp rise in hostile intelligence activity targeting Defence, with incidents increasing by more than 50% over the past year.
John Healey said Major General Jones had the experience and leadership needed to guide military intelligence through its transformation and strengthen readiness in what he described as an era of rising threats.
Outgoing Chief of Defence Intelligence Adrian Bird welcomed the appointment, describing Jones as an experienced intelligence professional well placed to complete the reform of Defence’s intelligence enterprise begun under the Strategic Defence Review.
Major General Jones will formally assume command of Defence Intelligence and the Military Intelligence Services later in 2026.
