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Mark Sedwill, who was formely government's most senior civil servanrt, is to become a non-executive director at the UK’s biggest defence and security group.

BAE Systems said Lord Sedwill – who was cabinet secretary and national security adviser until he left government in September 2020 – will start work at the firm in November.

He is a currently a senior adviser and supervisory board member at financial firm Rothschild & Co, and the senior independent director and senior deputy chair of insurer Lloyd's of London.

Sedwill’s other post-government roles include serving as chairman of the Atlantic Future Forum summit and as an adviser to Singapore-based investment company Temasek Holdings. He is also president of the Special Forces Club and a member of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution council.

Sedwill’s appointment to the board of BAE Systems will not require scrutiny by the government's anti-corruption watchdog the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments because it will be taken up more than two years after Sedwill left the civil service.

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Among the company’s public-sector engagement are a number of tech and data contracts, including multimillion-pound deals to build and support a key data platform underpinning the NHS Test and Trace programme, and a contract to support digital transformation across the Navy.

BAE Systems chair Sir Roger Carr said Sedwill would bring “well-informed geopolitical and economic perspectives” to the business, as well as experience leading large and complex organisations.

“He is globally respected and has enjoyed an outstanding public service career at the most senior level,” Carr said.

“His appointment will be a great addition to the board and further strengthens its credentials given the company's role in supporting global security.”

Sedwill said he was “delighted” to have been invited to take up his latest role.

"BAE Systems is the UK's leading defence company and is thus central to this country's national security and economic agenda,” he said.