Defence Secretary Honours International Women's Day

The Defence Secretary says he "would love" to see the first female head of the armed forces, and that there's no limit on career potential for women in the military.

As part of International Women's Day, Gavin Williamson visited personnel at RAF Brize Norton. 

The day is dedicated to celebrating the achievements of women around the world and gender equality.

It was first recognised on 8th March 1911 and was set in stone two years later.

Gavin Williamson said he hopes women can go far within the service and even said he would 'love' a female chief of staff.

"I would absolutely love to see the first female chief of defence staff and I am sure it is coming in the not too distant future." 

Meeting with a pilot, engineer and handler, Gavin Williamson said there are "no closed doors" for women in the military.

"The message is that you can go into any part of our armed forces and make a real difference.

"There's no closed doors to women being involved in terms of what they do in our armed forces."

But despite the day of recognition, Flight Lieutenant Kerry Bennet said she hoped seeing women in the armed forces was like second nature and "not a big deal."

"For me it would be really good if you could just have two female pilots on the flight deck and it not be a big deal.

"But it's very rare within my job to have an all female crew."

Britain's armed forces are joining in by highlighting some of their most inspirational women

 The day has been filled with appreciation posts on Facebook and Twitter with the hashtags #HERstory and #IWD2018