General Sir Mike Jackson , former head of the British Army, dies

The former head of the British Army, General Sir Mike Jackson has died aged 80.

Sir Mike, known as ‘Jacko’, died on Tuesday surrounded by his family, the Army said.

The father-of-three led the Army during the allied invasion of Iraq in 2003 after serving in Northern Ireland and Bosnia.

The British Army said in a tribute: “It is with great sadness that we have learnt of the death of General Sir Mike Jackson GCB, CBE, DSO, on October 15 surrounded by his family.

“General ‘Jacko’ served with distinction for over 40 years, finishing his career as chief of the general staff.

“He will be greatly missed, and long remembered.”

The announcement ended with the phrase “Utrinque Paratus”, the Latin motto of the Parachute Regiment, which translates to “ready for anything”.

The Parachute Regimental Association said he was a “great leader of men” who will be “missed by many”.

Jackson was seen as a tough and uncompromising soldier, with Darth Vader and The Prince of Darkness reportedly among the nicknames his troops gave him, referring to his cool manner and gravel voice.

He became head of the British Army just a month before the Iraq war, also known as the Second Gulf War, replacing General Sir Michael Walker.

During his time as the country’s top soldier, the general had to deal with claims of Iraqi prisoner abuse at the hands of UK troops and growing discontent about the role of coalition troops.

In 1999, while commanding 40,000 NATO KFOR troops in the Balkans, he refused an order from his American superior officer.

NATO supreme commander General Wesley Clark directed him to send forces into Kosovo to pre-empt a surprise Russian advance heading for the airport at Pristina.

But Jackson told him: “I’m not going to start the Third World War for you.”

Earlier in his career, he was present at two significant incidents in Northern Ireland.

He was a captain with the 1st Battalion of the Parachute Regiment at the time of the Ballymurphy shootings in Northern Ireland in August 1971.

In 2019 he told an inquest into the deaths of 10 people in the incident that there had not been a cover-up.

He was also at Bloody Sunday in 1972, when British soldiers opened fire on unarmed protesters in Derry, killing 14.

In March 2006, he created a storm by criticising kidnap victim Norman Kember, who, he said, had not thanked the SAS soldiers who rescued him and his Canadian colleagues from their captors in Iraq.

Sir Mike retired in August of that year having held the post for three-and-a-half years.

Born in March 1944, Sir Mike was educated at Stamford School and Sandhurst before being commissioned into the army as an officer in 1963.

He later earned a degree in Russian studies from Birmingham University while serving in the Intelligence Corps.