Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star " admiral" rank. It is often rega ...

Matthew John Parr, (born 20 August 1962) is a retired

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...

officer who has served as Commander Operations and Rear Admiral, Submarines and is currently an Inspector of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services.

Early life and education

Parr was born on 20 August 1962 in

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed ...

, England. He studied geography at Hatfield College, Durham, graduating with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

(BSc) degree in 1983.

Naval career

Parr joined the Royal Navy in 1984.Gibraltar's New CBF – CDRE M J Parr
Vox, 29 April 2007 He completed the Submarine Command Course in 1993 and then became Executive Officer of the submarine . He became an Operations Officer at Permanent Joint Headquarters in Northwood in 1995 and was then given command of the submarine in 1997. Parr became Commanding Officer of the frigate as well as Captain of the 6th Frigate Squadron in 2001, Deputy Flag Officer Sea Training at

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymout ...

in 2003 and then returned to Northwood to join the Fleet Operations in 2005. He went on to be Commander, British Forces Gibraltar in May 2007,Senior Royal Navy appointments
Director of Operational Capability at the

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in state ...

in March 2009,Ministry of Defence and Senior Tri-Service Appointments
and Principal Staff Officer to the Chief of the Defence Staff in December 2010. He became Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff in December 2011, which was re-designated Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff (Policy) in April 2012, and Commander Operations and Rear Admiral, Submarines in May 2013. Parr retired in April 2016. Parr was appointed

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a care ...

(CB) in the 2014 New Year Honours.

Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary

On leaving the navy, Parr was appointed to Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC). He has additionally been an HM Inspector of Fire and Rescue Services since 2017. In June 2022, after the Metropolitan Police was placed in special measures by HMIC, Parr wrote to Commissioner

Stephen House Sir Stephen House (born 1957) is a British police officer who served as Acting Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police in 2022. After beginning his career at Sussex Police in 1981, House held positions in Northamptonshire Police and West Yorksh ...

to outline "substantial and persistent concerns" regarding the force's performance, including its "inexperienced" workforce, its backlog of online child abuse cases, the stop and search of the athlete

Bianca Williams Bianca Williams (born 18 December 1993) is a British athlete. She competed for England at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, where she won bronze medals in the 200 m, and in the 4 × 100 m relay. She has also won two medals as part of the B ...

, the

strip-search A strip search is a practice of searching a person for weapons or other contraband suspected of being hidden on their body or inside their clothing, and not found by performing a frisk search, but by requiring the person to remove some or al ...

ing of children, the murder of Sarah Everard, and the force's approach to internal

corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption m ...

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Parr, Matthew Royal Navy rear admirals Living people 1962 births Alumni of Hatfield College, Durham Companions of the Order of the Bath