The Ministry of Defence’s new Defence Counter Intelligence Unit is not expected to become fully operational until 2027, with the unit having been launched in December 2025 using existing Defence Intelligence resources.
The timetable was disclosed in a written parliamentary answer to Conservative MP Ben Obese-Jecty, who asked whether the unit had been established by November 2025 as recommended in the 2025 Strategic Defence Review.
Armed Forces Minister Louise Sandher-Jones said: “The Defence Counter Intelligence Unit, launched in December 2025 within Defence Intelligence and using existing resources, works closely with the UK Intelligence Community to protect Defence from hostile intelligence threats.”
Recommendation 56 of the Strategic Defence Review called for a single counter-intelligence organisation within Defence Intelligence with responsibility for protecting the department against hostile intelligence services and working closely with the wider UK Intelligence Community.
Sandher-Jones said the organisation is still being developed, adding: “It will continue to develop to meet the evolving threat landscape and is planned to be fully operational in 2027.”
The unit’s remit is focused on hostile intelligence threats directed at Defence, placing counter-intelligence activity within a single structure intended to work alongside other parts of the UK intelligence community.
