North Devon MP joins Defence Select Committee

North Devon MP Ian Roome has been appointed to the House of Commons Defence Select Committee. 

A former Royal Air Force veteran, Mr Roome served in Germany and at RAF Chivenor during the late 1980s, as well as within the Ministry of Defence during the First Gulf War.

Mr Roome is one of two Liberal Democrat MPs chosen for the committee in the new Parliament, joining Mike Martin MP for Tunbridge Wells, a former Army Captain who served in Helmand Province, Afghanistan.

Expressing his gratitude for the appointment, Ian Roome said: “It is a great honour to be chosen for this particular role. Select Committees are where the real work of Parliament is done, and I look forward to getting to grips with important armed forces policy questions, veterans’ issues, and the long-term security of the UK.

“The UK faces a more dangerous World – we must be vigilant about maintaining our own strength and that of our international allies.”

Select Committee memberships are appointed from across the major political parties, and the Defence Committee examines the expenditure, administration, and policy of the Ministry of Defence and its associated public bodies. 

According to Mr Roome’s office, the Liberal Democrats have been the largest third party in Parliament for more than a century and have been chosen for an unprecedented number of Select Committee seats in the new Parliament.

The Defence Committee is expected to reconvene in late October, with Labour's Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi MP from Slough serving as the new Chairperson.