Kevan Jones
British politician and chair of the Intelligence and Security Committee
| Kevan David Jones, Lord Beamish
| |
|---|---|
| Image |  Kevan Jones, later Lord Beamish: official parliamentary portrait. |
| Occupation | Member of the House of Lords from 15 August 2024; Chair of the Intelligence and Security Committee[1][2] |
| Known for | Labour MP for North Durham, 2001–30 May 2024; Defence Minister (Veterans), 2008–2010; shadow defence minister, 2010–2016[1][3]; earlier GMB senior organiser and political officer[4] |
| Education | Portland Comprehensive, Worksop; Newcastle upon Tyne Polytechnic — Government and Public Policy BA (Hons), as listed in the 2001 BBC profile[4] |
| Website | Parliamentary career |
Kevan David Jones, Lord Beamish, is a member of the House of Lords. Parliament’s career record dates his Lords membership from 15 August 2024 and his earlier Commons service as a Labour Party member of Parliament (MP) for North Durham from 2001 to 30 May 2024.[1]
The Intelligence and Security Committee’s membership page identifies Lord Beamish as Chair. His parliamentary record lists membership of the Committee from 16 December 2024.[2][1]
Political career
Jones was Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Veterans), 2008-10, Shadow Minister (Veterans) in 2010, and Shadow Minister (Defence) 2010-2016, until he was forced to resign in a front bench reshuffle in 2016.[3][5]
In the 2015 and 2017 UK general elections Jones was re-elected with increased majorities.[6]
Comments on Fox-Werritty affair
In October 2011, Jones questioned the arrangements surrounding Liam Fox and Adam Werritty:
- Each day the questions mount up for Liam Fox. He has to explain why he needs Adam Werritty, who appears to be an unofficial adviser, when he has three special advisers costing the taxpayer pay almost £200,000. “Adam Werritty has been travelling the world giving the impression he was an official adviser and it would appear Dr Fox has not counteracted this impression. We need answers.” [7]
Affiliations
| Entry |
|---|
| Vice-chair - All-Party Parliamentary Group on Defence and Security Issues |
| Vice-chair - United Kingdom-United Arab Emirates All-Party Parliamentary Group |
| Member of the Armed Forces Bill Select Committee[8] |
Intelligence and Security Committee service
| Parliament / office | Recorded service |
|---|---|
| 2017–2019 | Listed in the Committee’s membership archive for this Parliament |
| 2019–2024 | Listed in the Committee’s membership archive for this Parliament; this Committee was constituted in July 2020 |
| 2024–present | Appointed on 16 December 2024; current roster checked on 8 November 2026 (chair elected 18 December 2024) |
| Chair | December 2024–present |
The reconstituted Committee first met on 18 December 2024 and elected Lord Beamish as chair. Its subsequent Iran report was published on 10 July 2025, after an inquiry whose evidence-taking had ended in August 2023.[11][12]
Other public roles
| Role | Dates recorded by Parliament |
|---|---|
| Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Veterans) | 5 October 2008 – 6 May 2010 |
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 UK Parliament, Parliamentary career for Lord Beamish (undated), accessed 6 November 2026 (Europe/London, GMT).
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament, Committee Membership (undated), accessed 6 November 2026 (Europe/London, GMT).
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Mr Kevan Jones, www.parliament.uk, accessed 14 December 2013.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 BBC News, "Kevan Jones: Vote 2001 candidate profile", 2001, accessed 6 November 2026.
- ↑ Kevan Jones, Shadow reshuffle? It was amateur, shambolic and a threat to security, Mail on Sunday, January 2016, accessed 23 March 2018
- ↑ In 2015 this was by 13,644 votes. North Durham constituency General Election 2015 results: Full standings, MP and reaction Chronicle Live, 8 May 2015, accessed 18 May 2015
- ↑ Rupert Neate, Labour questions £170,000 cost of Liam Fox's official advisers, The Guardian, 13 October 2011, accessed 23 March 2018
- ↑ Dods people, 'Arrivals, moves and departures', Civil Service World, accessed 3 November 2015
- ↑ Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament, Committee Membership, accessed 8 November 2026.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 UK Parliament, Parliamentary career record for Lord Beamish, Members API, accessed 8 November 2026.
- ↑ Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament, Annual Report 2023–2025, HC 1544, 15 December 2025, paragraphs 4–18, 74 and 77–103, and footnotes 40–41.
- ↑ Patrick Wintour, Iran’s threat to UK on a par with Russia’s, security report finds, The Guardian, 10 July 2025, accessed 8 November 2026.