How military chiefs switch sides to work for arms companies: Defence minister who signed multi-million deal for equipment now works for firm that provided it

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Switched sides: Former defence minister Ann Taylor

For defenders of the realm, going off to work for an arms company rather than retiring is increasingly the norm.

Whether generals or politicians, most are exploiting their experience and contacts after leaving the military field.

Ann Taylor visited a UK facility of weapons maker Thales in 2008 as defence minister and declared the French firm’s presence was welcome news.

It was also welcome news for herself – three months after leaving government she joined the multinational’s board.

During her 2007-2008 spell as minister of state for defence equipment, she signed off deals with Thales worth hundreds of millions of pounds.

Before joining the MoD, Baroness Taylor chaired the intelligence and security committee, which has access to highly sensitive information from MI5 and MI6.

The appointments watchdog had no difficulty however with her taking a post at Thales. Acoba did not even include a stipulation about her use of sensitive material.

Instead, it simply imposed a six-month waiting period on joining and said she should not become ‘personally involved’ in lobbying ministers for two years. She is one of five out of nine defence ministers who applied for Acoba clearance since 2008 to take jobs in defence.

And 32 out of 41 military chiefs at the MoD did the same. There is no suggestion any of them broke the rules or engaged in any wrongdoing. Acoba gave the go-ahead to each and every one – albeit with the usual condition that they should not sell any secrets or lobby ex-colleagues within the two-year quarantine period.

In 2012, The Sunday Times secretly filmed a former naval fleet commander, Admiral Sir Trevor Soar, saying he had ‘to be slightly careful of lobbying ministers’ but that a way to get around Acoba’s rule was ‘basically ignore it’.

Caught on camera: Admiral Sir Trevor Soar, pictured left, was secretly filmed saying he had ‘to be slightly careful of lobbying ministers’ but that a way to get around Acoba’s rule was ‘basically ignore it’

Sir Trevor said yesterday he had been cleared by a subsequent MoD investigation of any infringement of the rules.

And General Richard Applegate, who was the MoD’s head of procurement, was recorded boasting about his involvement lobbying for a £500million contract on behalf of an Israeli company he chaired.

General Applegate ridiculed Acoba’s conditions banning him from lobbying, saying he had ‘infected’ the system at every level.