National Security Council (United Kingdom)

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.^[1]

Council members

The NSC's members are as follows:

Officeholder	Office(s)
David Cameron MP	Prime Minister (Chair)
Nick Clegg MP	Deputy Prime Minister (Deputy Chair) Lord President of the Council
William Hague MP	First Secretary of State Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
George Osborne MP	Chancellor of the Exchequer
Theresa May MP	Secretary of State for the Home Department
Philip Hammond MP	Secretary of State for Defence
Chris Huhne MP	Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change
Andrew Mitchell MP	Secretary of State for International Development
Oliver Letwin MP	Minister of State for Policy
James Brokenshire MP	Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Crime and Security[2]

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,^[3] 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 Ricketts,^[4] 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.^[4]

References

1. ^ "Press Notice: Establishment of a National Security Council". http://www.number10.gov.uk number10.gov.uk. 12 May 2010. http://www.number10.gov.uk/news/latest-news/2010/05/establishment-of-a-national-security-council-49953. 
2. ^ http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/about-us/our-organisation/ministers/james-brokenshire/
3. ^ "Cabinet Committee Memberships". Cabinet Office HM Government. June 2010. http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/media/409188/cabinetcommitteesystemmay2010.pdf. Retrieved 5 August 2010. 
4. ^ ^{a b} "Cabinet Office Structure Charts, page 12". Cabinet Office HM Government. May 2010. http://download.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/organogram/co-organogram.pdf. Retrieved 6 July 2010. ^{[dead link]}

External links

• Cabinet Office - National Security Council
• Cabinet Office - National Security