What's New
FURTHER FUNDING FOR COUNTER-TERRORISM MEASURES ANNOUNCED (29.09.04)
Home Secretary David Blunkett announced on 29 September an additional £90 million of counter-terrorism funding next year, which will include money to recruit additional special branch and other counter-terrorism officers, and strengthen regional and national capacity. These officers will work hand in hand with the Security Service to carry out regional surveillance and investigations into terrorist activity.
TACKLING THE THREAT FROM WMD PROLIFERATION (29.09.04)
The UK submitted its report on the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1540, adopted in April to deal with the threat posed by WMD proliferation, on 29 September. Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said: "The threat does not just come from states. It can also come from terrorists seeking to acquire WMD, and from unscrupulous private companies and individuals who are willing to sell sensitive technology to the highest bidder".
PILOT SCHEME TO SECURE UK BORDERS UNDERWAY (28.09.04)
A high-tech scheme to modernise and strengthen the UK's borders was announced on 28 September. The pilot project will use new technology to provide a comprehensive passenger movement audit trail, which will enable tighter controls of those who may pose a security risk. "Our challenge is to safeguard our citizens against terrorism, serious and organised crime and illegal immigration, while at the same time facilitating entry for legitimate travellers," David Blunkett, the Home Secretary, said.
MUSLIM COUNCIL OF BRITAIN PUBLISHES RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES GUIDE (24.09.04)
David Blunkett, the Home Secretary, has welcomed the publication of the Muslim Council of Britain's "Know Your Rights & Responsibilities" pocket guide which will be distributed to all Muslim households in Britain. As well as providing a range of advice on citizenship issues, the guide describes the averting of possible terrorist attacks as "an Islamic imperative". Mr Blunkett said: "As I have consistently made clear, the small minority of people engaged in religious extremism do not speak on behalf of the communities they claim to represent and we must continue to counter the false perceptions they promote".
FOREIGN SECRETARY'S SPEECH ON GLOBAL SECURITY (23.09.04)
Addressing the United Nations General Assembly on 23 September, Foreign Secretary Jack Straw highlighted the urgent need to combat global terrorism. "More than ever, global security is our shared responsibility," he said. "In the year ahead, as we continue to adapt to today's threats and challenges, we must find renewed determination and political will to make collective security work."
NO LONGER THE OLD SPY NETWORK... (23.09.04)
In a feature on public sector recruitment in the Financial Times published on 23 September, the Security Service explains that potential applicants should not make presumptions about who or what the Service is looking for. "Openness has been the real driver for change and has had an impact in terms of the types of people we are recruiting. Your educational, social and cultural background really does not matter".
COUNTERING TODAY'S ELECTRONIC THREAT (17.09.04)
In the September edition of GEO:connexionUK magazine, the Director of the National Infrastructure Security Co-ordination Centre (NISCC), Roger Cumming, addresses the electronic threat facing the UK today and how it is being countered. "Unlike being the victim of a car bomb, we can fight back," Mr Cumming explains. "It is by working in partnership with the public and private sectors that NISCC makes sure our defences are sufficiently rugged to withstand or deflect an attack, or recover from its consequences as quickly as possible".
ARTICLE BY THE FOREIGN SECRETARY (11.09.04)
On the third anniversary of the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, writing in Al-Sharq Al Awsat newspaper, stressed that today's fight against terrorism is not a clash of civilisations or religions, but a clash between civilised values and the terrorists' agenda of violence, hatred and destruction. Mr Straw said: "the terrorist threat will neither be quickly reduced nor lastingly eradicated through security measures alone. To defeat terrorism in the long term we also need to tackle the conditions in which it breeds".
COUNTER-TERRORISM AND RESILIENCE: KEY FACTS (10.09.04)
Since September 11 2001, the Government has substantially increased the country's counter-terrorism efforts and has improved contingency planning and resilience to a range of emergencies. The Home Office has produced these key facts summarising the Government's action and anti-terror legislation since 9/11 and the steps taken to keep the public informed about the threats we face. (PDF format).
THE UNITED NATIONS AND THE MODERN SECURITY AGENDA: SPEECH BY THE FOREIGN SECRETARY (02.09.04)
In a speech about reform of the United Nations at Chatham House on 2 September, the Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, underlined the role of the UN in addressing today's threats to international security, including terrorism and the spread of weapons of mass destruction. Mr Straw said that the siege at the school in Beslan, in the Russian Federation, was "a horrible reminder that international terrorism is a present danger to all of us, wherever we are."
