approach to dealing with former members of the Taliban. By December 2009, Stirrup was expressing his concern about falling levels of public support for the war in Afghanistan which he believed risked undermining the British effort. In particular Stirrup called for a spirit of resolution and stated that the mission was achievable, noting that the British Armed Forces had finally now got a properly resourced plan to achieve the strategic aim. Extended term of office and retirement On 14 July 2010, the Defence Secretary Liam Fox announced that General Sir David Richards, the then Chief of the General Staff, would succeed Stirrup as Chief of the Defence Staff in October 2010. Richards took over on 29 October 2010 and Stirrup was created a life peer as Baron Stirrup, of Marylebone in the City of Westminster. He was introduced into the House of Lords on 1 February 2011, where he sits as a crossbencher. Stirrup officially retired from the RAF on 4 April 2011. The following month Stirrup gave detailed evidence to the Commons Defence Select Committee on the UK's recent Strategic Defence and Security Review. In April 2013, Stirrup was appointed Knight Companion of the Order of the Garter by the Queen Elizabeth II. He was appointed as an honorary Marshal of the Royal Air Force in the Queen's 2014 Birthday Honours. Activities as a Peer In 2013 Stirrup, along with Field Marshal Lord Guthrie and Admiral of the Fleet Lord Boyce, called upon the British Government to derogate from the European Convention on Human Rights for the duration of deployed operations. They were concerned that the increased risk of prosecution faced by commanders would lead to a generation of risk-averse military leaders. In August 2014, Stirrup was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to The Guardian opposing Scottish independence in the run-up to September's referendum on that issue. In June 2015 Stirrup joined the House of Lords' EU External Affairs Sub-Committee. From October 2015 Stirrup has been the president of the Pilgrims Society. On Remembrance Sunday 2014, it was announced that Stirrup would lead the efforts to raise one million pounds to enable a national memorial to the British service personnel who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan to be erected in central London. By March 2015 Stirrup was confident that the full amount needed could be raised and by July 2016 work had begun