Interesting new take on this appointment from The Times, apparently Barron was the MoDs choice but was overuled by the PM. Barron was offered VCDS but declined and resigned. Article in full for those who are interested:
A Royal Marine is expected to be given the No 2 job in the armed forces as part of a reorganisation of the top echelons that will also establish new heads for the Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy, The Times can reveal.
Lieutenant-General Gordon Messenger, a decorated Afghan veteran, is the surprise choice for vice-chief of the defence staff after David Cameron derailed the Ministry of Defence’s succession plans by overruling its recommendation for the top job, chief of the defence staff, senior defence sources said.
Air Marshal Sir Stephen Hillier, a highly respected pilot, is expected to become the chief of the air staff, and Vice-Admiral Sir Philip Jones is set to be the next first sea lord.
The appointments, due to be confirmed as early as today, come after the prime minister last week selected Air Chief Marshal Sir Stuart Peach, the vice-chief, as the next head of the military rather than General Sir Richard Barrons, who had been preferred by the MoD’s senior appointments committee, a senior source said.
It is highly unusual for a prime minister to overrule the committee. The move, seen by some as political meddling, has left several senior officers very unhappy, the source added.
It also created a dilemma over who would fill the other top posts because Air Chief Marshal Peach had been expected to remain in his job. One insider described the subsequent jostling for power between the army, air force and navy as like “Game of Thrones inside the Ministry of Defence . . . you either win or die”.
At first General Barrons, head of joint forces command, another four-star post, was offered the job of vice-chief, but he turned it down and handed in his notice, sources said.
General Messenger was considered for the vice-chief job along with Lieutenant-General Sir Christopher Deverell, head of army equipment. General Messenger looks set to have won the contest and will rise to the position of four-star officer at the early age of 53. It will also make him the first Royal Marine to reach such a high rank in almost 40 years. The last four-star Marine served in 1977.