Vice Admiral Sir Richard Jeffrey Ibbotson, KBE, CB, DSC, DL (born 27 June 1954)[1] is a former Royal Navy officer who served as Deputy Commander-in-Chief Fleet.

Educated at Durham University, Ibbotson joined the Royal Navy in 1975 and specialized in underwater warfare.

[5] Ibbotson was given command of the mine countermeasure vessel HMS Hurworth before serving in the Gulf War in 1991 for which he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.

[2] He went on to command the frigate HMS Boxer before joining the Directorate of Nuclear Policy at the Ministry of Defence.

[2] He became Staff Operations Officer to the Commander United Kingdom Task Group in the Adriatic Sea and was present during the withdrawal from Hong Kong in July 1997.