Date of creation : 1996
President : Robert Walter
Vice-President : Nick Watts
Secretary-general : Robin Ashby
Email : robin.ashby@ukdf.org.uk
The President
Bob Walter spent his early career as a stockbroker and international banker. In 1997 he was elected to Parliament representing North Dorset in southwest England. During his 18 years in the House of Commons he served as Chairman of the Defence Committee (2005-08), and then President (2008-11) of the Assembly of the Western European Union. He was Leader of the United Kingdom delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (2010-2015), and also a Vice President of the Assembly during that period. He served as a Vice President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (2013-15). In 2012 he was appointed to a three-year term as President of the Berlin Security Conference, and still serves on their Advisory Board. Bob is President of the European Security and Defence Association and was this year (2021) elected President of Eurodefense – UK.
The Vice President
Nick Watts is a defence and security consultant, advisor and freelance journalist.
Particular interests are: defence acquisition, defence policy questions relating to European defence and security (EU – NATO), Cyber-security, Hybrid warfare and counter – terrorism.
The Secretary General
A qualified engineer, Robin built his business to become one of the leading advisers to multinational defence companies in the UK market. He founded the U K Defence Forum in 1996 as a non-partisan, not for profit organisation which encourages understanding of defence issues by UK parliamentarians. He supports the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Defence and Security; curates a leading defence blog www.defenceviewpoints.co.uk ; and edits Distant Voices, which encourages people around the world to recall the experiences of their forebears in the conflicts of the 20th century.