National Security Council (United Kingdom)
Encyclopedia
The National Security Council (NSC) of the United Kingdom
is a Cabinet Committee
tasked with overseeing all issues related to national security
, intelligence coordination, and defence strategy. The NSC was established on 12 May 2010 by Prime Minister David Cameron
. The Council will coordinate responses to threats faced by the United Kingdom and integrating at the highest level the work of relevant government entities with respect to national security.
In addition, other government ministers, senior officials, military and intelligence officers, and civil servants will attend as necessary. There are two subcommittees of the NSC, Nuclear Deterrence and Security and Threats, Hazards, Resilience and Contingencies.
, who was previously Permanent Secretary
of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office
and Chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee. The National Security Adviser is a Civil Service position based in the Cabinet Office
and heads up a team called the National Security Secretariat.
There are two Deputy National Security Advisers, one for Foreign Policy and the other for Intelligence Security & Resilience.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
is a Cabinet Committee
United Kingdom cabinet committee
The executive arm of the United Kingdom government is controlled by the Cabinet, a group of senior government ministers chaired by the Prime Minister. The Cabinet has a group of committees called cabinet committees, which perform most of the day-to-day work of cabinet government.The committee...
tasked with overseeing all issues related to national security
National security
National security is the requirement to maintain the survival of the state through the use of economic, diplomacy, power projection and political power. The concept developed mostly in the United States of America after World War II...
, intelligence coordination, and defence strategy. The NSC was established on 12 May 2010 by Prime Minister David Cameron
David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament ....
. The Council will coordinate responses to threats faced by the United Kingdom and integrating at the highest level the work of relevant government entities with respect to national security.
Council members
The NSC's members are as follows:| Officeholder | Office(s) |
|---|---|
| David Cameron David Cameron David William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament .... MP |
|
| Nick Clegg Nick Clegg Nicholas William Peter "Nick" Clegg is a British Liberal Democrat politician who is currently the Deputy Prime Minister, Lord President of the Council and Minister for Constitutional and Political Reform in the coalition government of which David Cameron is the Prime Minister... MP |
Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom The Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a senior member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom. The office of the Deputy Prime Minister is not a permanent position, existing only at the discretion of the Prime Minister, who may appoint to other offices... (Deputy Chair) Lord President of the Council The Lord President of the Council is the fourth of the Great Officers of State of the United Kingdom, ranking beneath the Lord High Treasurer and above the Lord Privy Seal. The Lord President usually attends each meeting of the Privy Council, presenting business for the monarch's approval... |
| William Hague William Hague William Jefferson Hague is the British Foreign Secretary and First Secretary of State. He served as Leader of the Conservative Party from June 1997 to September 2001... MP |
First Secretary of State First Secretary of State is an occasionally used title within the Government of the United Kingdom, principally regarded as purely honorific. The title, which implies seniority over all other Secretaries of State, has no specific powers or authority attached to it beyond that of any other Secretary... Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, commonly referred to as the Foreign Secretary, is a senior member of Her Majesty's Government heading the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and regarded as one of the Great Offices of State... |
| George Osborne George Osborne George Gideon Oliver Osborne, MP is a British Conservative politician. He is the Chancellor of the Exchequer of the United Kingdom, a role to which he was appointed in May 2010, and has been the Member of Parliament for Tatton since 2001.Osborne is part of the old Anglo-Irish aristocracy, known in... MP |
Chancellor of the Exchequer The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister who is responsible for all economic and financial matters. Often simply called the Chancellor, the office-holder controls HM Treasury and plays a role akin to the posts of Minister of Finance or Secretary of the... |
| Theresa May Theresa May Theresa Mary May is a British Conservative politician who is Home Secretary in the Conservative – Liberal Democrat Coalition government. She was elected to Parliament in 1997 as the Member of Parliament for Maidenhead, and served as the Chairman of the Conservative Party, 2003–04... MP |
|
| Philip Hammond Philip Hammond Philip Hammond MP is a British Conservative Party politician. He is the current Defence Secretary in the Coalition government led by David Cameron, having succeeded Liam Fox on 14 October 2011... MP |
Secretary of State for Defence The Secretary of State for Defence, popularly known as the Defence Secretary, is the senior Government of the United Kingdom minister in charge of the Ministry of Defence, chairing the Defence Council. It is a Cabinet position... |
| Chris Huhne Chris Huhne Christopher Murray Paul-Huhne, generally known as Chris Huhne is a British politician and cabinet minister, who is the current Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for the Eastleigh constituency in Hampshire... MP |
Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change The Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change is a British government cabinet position currently held by Chris Huhne. The government department was created on 3 October 2008 when former Prime Minister Gordon Brown reshuffled his cabinet.... |
| Andrew Mitchell Andrew Mitchell The Right Honourable Andrew John Bower Mitchell MP is a British Conservative Party politician and the Member of Parliament for Sutton Coldfield... MP |
Secretary of State for International Development In the United Kingdom, the Secretary of State for International Development is a Cabinet minister responsible for the Department for International Development and for promoting development overseas, particularly in the third world... |
| Oliver Letwin Oliver Letwin Oliver Letwin MP FRSA is a British politician. A member of the Conservative Party, he is currently the Minister of State at the Cabinet Office, and a Member of Parliament representing the constituency of West Dorset... MP |
Cabinet Office The Cabinet Office is a department of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for supporting the Prime Minister and Cabinet of the United Kingdom.... |
| James Brokenshire James Brokenshire James Peter Brokenshire is a British Conservative Party politician. He is the Member of Parliament for Old Bexley and Sidcup and Minister for Security at the Home Office that grants him a seat on the National Security Council.-Early life:He was educated at Davenant Foundation Grammar School, the... MP |
Minister for Security The Minister for Security is a junior ministerial position in the Home Office. The post was created by Labour Prime Minister Gordon Brown on 3 June 2009 by splitting the now-defunct post of the Minister for Security, Counter-Terrorism, Crime and Policing between this post and the new post of... |
In addition, other government ministers, senior officials, military and intelligence officers, and civil servants will attend as necessary. There are two subcommittees of the NSC, Nuclear Deterrence and Security and Threats, Hazards, Resilience and Contingencies.
National Security Adviser
The Council's structures will be formulated by the Prime Minister’s National Security Adviser (NSA). The first National Security Adviser of the United Kingdom is Sir Peter RickettsPeter Ricketts
Sir Peter Forbes Ricketts, GCMG is a senior British diplomat who currently serves as National Security Adviser to HM Government...
, who was previously Permanent Secretary
Permanent Secretary
The Permanent secretary, in most departments officially titled the permanent under-secretary of state , is the most senior civil servant of a British Government ministry, charged with running the department on a day-to-day basis...
of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office, commonly called the Foreign Office or the FCO is a British government department responsible for promoting the interests of the United Kingdom overseas, created in 1968 by merging the Foreign Office and the Commonwealth Office.The head of the FCO is the...
and Chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee. The National Security Adviser is a Civil Service position based in the Cabinet Office
Cabinet Office
The Cabinet Office is a department of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for supporting the Prime Minister and Cabinet of the United Kingdom....
and heads up a team called the National Security Secretariat.
There are two Deputy National Security Advisers, one for Foreign Policy and the other for Intelligence Security & Resilience.