Briefing from the Prime Minister’s Spokesman on: National Security Strategy, Cabinet, Anthony Minghella and Nancy Pelosi
National Security Strategy
Asked if there was anything more to add to what was said in the morning’s lobby about the National Security Strategy, the Prime Minister’s Spokesman said that there was not much more that he could add to what he had already said. In general terms the background to this was that we were facing an uncertain international landscape with new security challenges. We faced a new terrorist threat of a different scale and nature. We continued to face the threat of nuclear weapons, however we also faced new forms of attack such as electronic attacks and increasing risks such as pandemics. There was also a deeper understanding needed of how issues such as climate change and energy demand effected our national security.
The context of the statement tomorrow was that the issues, which were once local, national or regional, were now global; twenty years ago the terrorist threat came principally from the IRA and the nuclear threat came from the Soviet Union, however we now faced a loose affiliation of terrorist groups and networks spanning the globe. We also saw how failed states such as Afghanistan or regional tensions such as those in the Middle East affected our national security.
The statement tomorrow would set out for the first time, in a comprehensive way, how the different agencies and departments of Government were working together to meet these challenges and were using all of the resources available to meet these challenges. This included the role of the military, the police and the security services; the role of diplomacy and cultural connections; the role of the global institutions and also the power of ideas. That was the general context for tomorrow’s statement. It would be a statement from the Prime Minister in the House of Commons at 1230 and the National Security Document would be published alongside the statement.
Asked if a new National Security Council could be expected, the PMS replied that we already had the National Security Committee, formed in July, which brought together all of the main departments and agencies within Government in order to look at the security issues we faced.
Asked if the Prime Minister would be announcing any structural changes, the PMS replied that the National Security Committee would continue but he was not in a position to pre-empt the statement. However, we would always look to see what further support and advisory structures we could put in place in order to supplement what we already had.
Asked if the COBRA structure would remain the same, the PMS said that we had no plans to change the COBRA structure.
Asked if the Prime Minister would rate the threats in anyway, the PMS said that the National Security Strategy would set out what the main threats were so it was best to wait for that.
Asked if the new set up would involve the devolved administrations, the PMS replied that we had very close cooperation regarding counter terrorism with the devolved administrations, as we saw with the security issues at Glasgow airport last July, and we were sure that that close cooperation would continue.
Asked if there would be anything about resources in the strategy, the PMS said that the Comprehensive Spending Review had dealt with the main resource issues.
Asked if the pandemic threat mentioned previously referred to illness pandemics, the PMS replied yes; we faced increasing risks which were different to those we had faced in the past.
Asked if the paper would be descriptive rather than concentrating on policy changes, the PMS replied that it was more about bringing together, in a comprehensive way, how the different parts of Government were collaborating in order to meet the new national security challenges we faced.
Asked if the Prime Minister believed that he, or any other future Prime Minister, should retain chairmanship of any security committee or if there was scope for a new Cabinet role, the PMS said that we should wait and see, however we had announced the new National Security Committee, which the Prime Minister chaired, just a few months ago.
Asked if the idea was to have an annual statement on security and if that was what happened in America, the PMS said that that was the anticipation and that we had a British solution to deal with issues that effected Britain.
Asked why it was decided that this strategy was needed now, the PMS said that it was due to the fact that we faced different threats to the ones we faced ten or twenty years ago and those threats were complex so therefore required complex solutions to deal with them.
Asked if there would be operational changes, the PMS replied that this was predominantly about how Government structures were working in order to meet the security threats we faced.
Put that the Prime Minister had asked Gus O’Donnell to look at how intelligence was presented and how the Intelligence and Security Committee was responsibe to Parliament and asked if this would be covered in the strategy, the PMS said that that general territory would be part of the sorts of issues that the Prime Minister would be talking about tomorrow.
Cabinet
Asked if the economy was discussed at Cabinet this morning, the PMS said that they had discussed the state of the economy and that this had already been raised at this morning’s lobby.
Asked if the report regarding sustainable development criteria had come up at Cabinet, the PMS replied that, as was said this morning, the report identified where the Government was making good progress. For example, 23% of Government electricity came from renewable resources and 35% of our waste was recycled. However, the Government, like all individuals, the private sector and everybody in the economy, needed to do more if we were to reach the CO2 reduction targets.
Asked if there was any particular reason why this morning’s Cabinet was political, the PMS said there was no specific reason; there were political Cabinet meetings from time to time and this was such a time.
Anthony Minghella
Asked if the Prime Minister had any thoughts about the death of Mr Minghella, the PMS read the following statement from the Prime Minister:
”I was deeply saddened to be told of Anthony’s death. My thoughts are with his wife, Carolyn, his children Max and Hannah, and his other family and friends. He was one of Britain’s greatest creative talents, one of our finest screenwriters and directors, a great champion of the British film industry, and an expert on literature and opera. I counted him as a great friend, as did Sarah and our family. He will be deeply missed, but his contribution to British culture will be remembered for many years to come.”
Nancy Pelosi
Asked if the economy had been discussed during the Prime Minister’s meeting with Nancy Pelosi, the PMS said that the main issues they discussed were climate change, the international institutions, financial stability and the global economy. The discussion regarding the economy was mostly around what was happening in the US and the US stimulus package that Congress had approved, as well as the Prime Minister updating them on what was happening in Britain and Europe.
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