 On 19 March 2008, Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced the publication of the UK’s first National Security Strategy. The strategy addresses the fact that the UK’s current and future security challenges have significantly changed to those of 20th century, and outlines the Government is planning to doing in response to meeting these challenges.
Funded by the Comprehensive Spending Review 2007 (CSR07), which pledges an investment totalling £3.5bn by 2010 for homeland security and resilience and Counter-Terrorism initiatives, the strategy, for the first time, considers the full remit of security risks facing the UK, including terrorism (home and abroad), nuclear attack, natural disasters such as extreme weather and flooding, international crime and cyber attacks.
Although the strategy’s publication has been welcomed as a well intentioned and much needed requirement in providing the first cohesive review of all of the UK’s 21st century security considerations, commentators and industry have been quick to point out that the strategy in itself, no matter how comprehensive, is not enough.
They argue, that to deliver the level of national security to which it aspires, the UK Government must act now, taking advantage of the experience, innovation and skills of the UK security industry, to ensure that the strategy is fulfilled and the UK is well equipped to meet the security and resilience challenges of the coming decades.
Joel Grundy, defence and security manager for IT trade association Intellect commented: "We urge Government to use this strategy as a way to leverage the experience, innovation and skills of UK industry, and work with us to implement a comprehensive response to the challenges laid out in this report.”
As a dedicated member of Intellect, and an active member of the association’s Security and Resilience Working Group, VEGA is fully committed to the aspirations of the National Security Strategy and to Intellect’s belief that UK industry has a major role to play in shaping effective security plans for the nation’s citizens and interests.
In The UK National Security Strategy 2008: Dealing with the detail, Steve Coles, VEGA’s Secure Systems Director, and one of Intellect’s representatives on the Security and Resilience Industry Suppliers Council (RISC), outlines VEGA’s view on some of the key factors that need to be considered when reviewing the challenges outlined in the UK’s National Security Strategy.
|
