Sir Andrew Gregory

This article is part of the Revolving Door project of Spinwatch.

Sir Andrew Gregory. Retrieved from SSAFA Twitter page.

Sir Andrew Gregory was Chief of Defence People at the Ministry of Defence from April 2013 to April 2016. He was previously Director General Personnel and Military Secretary and served in a range of command and staff roles in Germany, Northern Ireland and the Balkans. He was Deputy Commander of 1st (United Kingdom) Armoured Division during the invasion of Iraq in 2003. His military career lasted 35 years.

Revolving Door

Lt Gen Sir Andrew Gregory left the Ministry of Defence in April 2016, and was appointed as Controller (Chief Executive) of SSAFA in August 2016 .

In September 2016, Sir Andrew Gregory asked for ACOBA’s advice about an appointment with SSAFA, the national Armed Forces charity. However, it was submitted after his appointment had been publicly announced. Due to the timing of the demand, 'the Committee was unwilling to give retrospective approval for the appointment'.

The Committee still formally recorded that:

• This is a full-time, paid role, which Sir Andrew was offered following an open application process.
• The appointment will include contact with Government, as Sir Andrew will be required to liaise with Ministers and officials in the Ministry of Defence (MOD), the Cabinet Office and other Whitehall departments to deliver the intent behind Government’s Armed Forces Covenant.
• SSAFA delivers contracted healthcare and social services to parts of the MOD but Sir Andrew had no contractual dealings with SSAFA while in post. He had monthly discussions with the previous Controller, as he did with the Chief Executives of other major military charities, in order to improve the support to the Armed Forces Community.
• The MOD would expect Sir Andrew to refrain from becoming directly involved in contractual negotiations with the MOD on behalf of his new employer.