Col. Richard Kemp CBE spent most his 30-year career in the British Army fighting terrorism and insurgency.

He commanded British forces in Afghanistan, Iraq, Northern Ireland, the Balkans and elsewhere.
From 2002 - 2006 he headed the international terrorism team at the UK Government’s Joint Intelligence Committee and also chaired the strategic intelligence group at COBRA, the UK national crisis management committee.
He has been present during each of the conflicts between Israel and Hamas since Operation Cast Lead in 2008 and has been in Israel from the start of the current war in Gaza, during which he has been inside Gaza with the IDF several times.

He has also been present at the front line on a number of occasions during the war in Ukraine. He was appointed MBE by The Queen in 1994 and was promoted to CBE in 2006. In 1994 he was awarded the Queen’s Commendation for Bravery for actions in Bosnia.

His name was discovered on an Al Qaida kill list in 2013.