Rt Hon. Lord James Arbuthnot of Edrom Former Chair of the UK House of Commons Defence Committee,

The Rt. Hon. Lord James Arbuthnot, MP, Baron Arbuthnot of Edrom, became a Life Peer and a Conservative Party member of the House of Lords in 2015.  Previously, he served as Chair of the UK House of Commons Defence Committee, a position he held from 2005 to 2015. From 2001 to 2005 James Arbuthnot was Shadow Secretary of State for Trade, and also a member of the Intelligence and Security Committee.

Previous to this, he served as Minister of State for Defence Procurement (1995-1997) and Opposition Chief Whip (1997 -2001), after serving as a Government Whip and Parliamentary Undersecretary of State at the Department of Social Security. James Arbuthnot first entered the UK Parliament in 1987 as MP for Wanstead & Woodford and, beginning in1997, represented North East Hampshire.