Adrian Philip Bird CB is a senior civil servant who serves as Chief of Defence Intelligence at the UK Ministry of Defence. He will take over as Chair of the Joint Intelligence Committee in July 2026, succeeding Dame Madeleine Alessandri.[1]
Adrian Bird | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Bird in 2022 | |
| Chief of Defence Intelligence | |
| In office 2022–2026 | |
| Preceded by | Sir James Hockenhull |
| Succeeded by | Matthew Jones |
Biography
editBird joined GCHQ and served in a variety of roles there, latterly as a director-general, before being appointed Chief of Defence Intelligence at the Ministry of Defence in September 2022.[2][3]
In December 2025, Bird disclosed that there had been a 50% increase in threats identified over the previous year.[4][5]
In the 2022 New Year Honours, Bird was appointed Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) "for services to British foreign policy".[6]
References
edit- ↑ "New Head of the Joint Intelligence Organisation Appointed". GOV.UK. Retrieved 2026-05-24.
- ↑ "Adrian Bird appointed new Chief of Defence Intelligence". Gov.uk. 22 July 2022. Retrieved 8 March 2026.
- ↑ "UK Defence Intelligence at 60". RUSI. 12 December 2024. Retrieved 8 March 2026.
- ↑ "Inside top-secret military base where intelligence experts are fighting a spike in hostile activity". BFPS. 12 December 2025. Retrieved 8 March 2026.
- ↑ "UK defense minister warns 'shadow of war knocking on Europe's door". Politico. 12 December 2025. Retrieved 8 March 2026.
- ↑ "No. 63571". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 January 2022. p. N3.