National Security Council (United Kingdom)

British government Cabinet committee

United Kingdom
National Security Council

Committee overview
Formed| 12 May 2010
Committee executive|

* Keir Starmer, Prime Minister (Chair)
* Jonathan Powell, National Security Adviser (Secretary)

Parent department| Cabinet Office
Website| gov.uk/government/groups/national-security-council

The National Security Council is a United Kingdom cabinet committee. The Council's terms of reference were said in September 2022 to include matters relating to national security, foreign policy, defence, trade, international relations, development, resilience and resource security.[1] As of 2024, the meetings are held weekly.[2]

The NSC has counterparts in the national security councils of many other nations. The incumbent National Security Adviser (NSA) is Jonathan Powell.[3][4]

## History

[edit]

The then National Security Council was established on 12 May 2010 by Prime Minister David Cameron.[5] The NSC formalised national security decision making, which had previously been carried out in informal groups largely composed of officials.[6] It increased the power of the Prime Minister, who chairs the council, and brought senior Cabinet ministers into national security policy making, giving them access to the highest levels of intelligence.[6] It coordinates responses to threats faced by the United Kingdom and integrates at the highest level the work of relevant government entities with respect to national security.[7] The council reflected the central coordination of national security issues seen in the Committee of Imperial Defence,[8] which operated from 1902 until 1947, while also being partly modelled on the United States National Security Council.[6]

The first National Security Adviser (NSA), who acts as the council's secretary,[9] was also appointed on 12 May 2010.[5]

From 1 April 2015 the council oversaw the newly created Conflict, Stability and Security Fund, a fund of more than £1 billion per year for tackling conflict and instability abroad.[10] Following a critical inquiry into the fund by the Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy in 2016,[10] where the committee stated that the fund was secretive and "There is a risk that the CSSF is being used as a 'slush fund' [for projects that do not] meet the needs of UK national security", fund spending at the country level was disclosed and an annual report produced.[11]

In April 2019, an inquiry, which could lead to criminal proceedings, was announced into the leaking to The Daily Telegraph of a decision by the NSC to allow Huawei to bid for 'non-core' elements of the construction of the prospective 5G network.[12]

In the early months of Johnson's premiership, several sub-committees of the NSC ceased to exist.[13] Additionally, the NSC met weekly during the ministries of David Cameron and Theresa May, but didn't meet at all between January and May 2020, under Boris Johnson.[14] Johnson's non-use of the NSC has been criticised.[15]

The Council was briefly renamed the Foreign Policy and Security Council (FPSC) under Prime Minister Liz Truss.[1] The list of Cabinet Committees published 3 November 2022, confirmed the name had been changed back to National Security Council under Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.[16]

In September 2024, it was reported that Prime Minister Keir Starmer had begun holding weekly meetings for the first time in years.[2]

## Membership

[edit]

As of October 2024, the National Security Council considers the strategic approach to national security, foreign policy, resilience, international relations, economic security, trade, development, defence and global issues. Its membership is as follows:[17]

Image  | Member  | Office(s)

|
|

| Keir Starmer
(Chair) | Prime Minister
First Lord of the Treasury
Minister for the Civil Service
Minister for the Union
| Angela Rayner[18] | Deputy Prime Minister
Housing Secretary
| Rachel Reeves | Chancellor of the Exchequer
| Pat McFadden | Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
| David Lammy | Foreign Secretary
| Yvette Cooper | Home Secretary
| John Healey | Defence Secretary
| The Lord Hermer | Attorney General for England and Wales
Advocate General for Northern Ireland

Other ministers and senior officials attend the NSC and National Security Ministers (NSM) where applicable.[19] These other figures have been noted to include the Chief of the Defence Staff (not the individual chiefs of each service),[13][20] the heads of intelligence agencies[13] and the Leader of the Opposition.[21] Stakeholders including the devolved governments, local authorities and external experts are also consulted in preparation for meetings.[19]

## National Security Council (Nuclear)

[edit]

To consider matters around nuclear deterrence and nuclear security.[17]

Image  | Member  | Office(s)

|
|

| Keir Starmer
(Chair) | Prime Minister
First Lord of the Treasury
Minister for the Civil Service
Minister for the Union
| Rachel Reeves | Chancellor of the Exchequer
| Pat McFadden | Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
| Yvette Cooper | Home Secretary
| John Healey | Defence Secretary
| Ed Miliband | Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero

## National Security Council (Ukraine)

[edit]

To consider matters relating to the Government’s response to the situation in Ukraine.[17]

Image  | Member  | Office(s)

|
|

| David Lammy | Foreign Secretary (co-Chair)
| John Healey | Defence Secretary (co-Chair)
| Rachel Reeves | Chancellor of the Exchequer
| Yvette Cooper | Home Secretary

## National Security Council (Resilience)

[edit]

To oversee implementation and delivery of resilience matters.[17]

Image  | Member  | Office(s)

|
|

| Pat McFadden | Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Chair)
| Angela Rayner | Deputy Prime Minister
Housing Secretary
| Rachel Reeves | Chancellor of the Exchequer
| Yvette Cooper | Home Secretary
| John Healey | Defence Secretary
| Wes Streeting | Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
| Ed Miliband | Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
| Peter Kyle | Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
| Steve Reed | Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
| Lisa Nandy | Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport

## National Security Secretariat

[edit]

The size and shape of the National Security Secretariat (NSS) and its senior leadership has fluctuated since its inception in May 2010. From July 2010, there were two Deputy National Security Advisers (DNSAs): Julian Miller for Foreign & Defence Policy and Oliver Robbins for Intelligence, Security & Resilience.[22] By March 2013, Hugh Powell – previously a National Security Secretariat Director – had been promoted to a newly created third DNSA position.[23] As of 6 November 2014, there were three DNSAs: Hugh Powell as DNSA (Foreign Policy), Julian Miller as DNSA (Defence, Nuclear and Strategy) and Paddy McGuinness as DNSA (Intelligence, Security & Resilience).[24] As of early December 2014, the National Security Secretariat was staffed by 180 officials[25] and comprises five directorates: Foreign & Defence Policy; the Civil Contingencies Secretariat; Security & Intelligence; the Office of Cyber Security and Information Assurance, and UK Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT UK).[24] As of 10 February 2015, Liane Saunders – previously the National Security Secretariat's Director for Foreign Policy and its Afghanistan/Pakistan Coordinator – was described as an Acting Deputy National Security Adviser (Conflict, Stability and Foreign Policy).[26]

On 16 June 2016, the Cabinet Office released staff data, correct as of 31 March 2016, listing two current Deputy National Security Advisers: Paddy McGuinness (responsible for Intelligence, Security and Resilience) and then Brigadier Gwyn Jenkins (responsible for Conflict, Stability & Defence).[27] Jenkins appeared to have been in post since at least June 2015.[28] Prior to becoming a deputy National Security Adviser, Jenkins was the military assistant to prime minister David Cameron.[29]

As of April 2017, it was announced that a diplomat, Christian Turner, had replaced Jenkins as the second Deputy National Security Adviser, with a portfolio comprising 'foreign and defence policy.'[30] According to one of Turner's tweets, dated 13 April 2017, his first week as Deputy National Security Adviser was the week commencing Monday 10 April 2017.[31] Turner is now the High Commissioner to Pakistan.[32] Turner was replaced by David Quarrey in July 2019.[33]

It was reported on 14 January 2018 that Paddy McGuinness was leaving the national security secretariat.[34] His successor as deputy national security adviser for intelligence, security and resilience, Richard Moore, announced his appointment on 8 January via his personal Twitter account.[35] Moore's tenure as deputy NSA was relatively brief (circa three months), ending in early April when he returned to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office as Political Director, a move he also announced via Twitter on 8 April.[36] Although unconfirmed publicly by the UK government, Madeleine Alessandri had replaced Moore as the second deputy national security adviser.[37] However, in September 2018, Alessandri's name and appointment was mentioned in a government response to the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament and a list of government salaries.[38][39] Alessandri apparently took up her appointment in July 2018.[40] Alessandri has left her Deputy NSA post to work in the Northern Ireland Office in January 2020.[41] Alessandri has been replaced by Beth Sizeland[42] while Alex Ellis has also been added as a deputy with the title 'Deputy National Security Adviser for the Integrated Review on diplomacy, development and defence'.[43] Sizeland's appointment was confirmed in an oral evidence by Mark Sedwill, however, as of 25 May 2020, her appointment has not been updated on the Cabinet Office website.[44]

As of October 2020, Quarrey has taken over the post of acting NSA while Lord Frost remains Chief Negotiator for the European Union talks.[45] On 29 January 2021, it was announced that Stephen Lovegrove, not Frost, would be appointed as National Security Adviser.[46] In April 2022, Quarrey was appointed as the UK's Permanent Representative to NATO.[47][48] He was succeeded by Sarah Macintosh. Beth Sizeland was succeeded by Matthew Collins at an unknown date and the title was retitled as Deputy National Security Adviser (Intelligence, Defence and Security).[49] As of March 2025, there were reportedly three deputy National Security Advisers - Matthew Collins, Jonathan Black, and Nick Catsaras - although the precise dates of their appointments and distribution of responsibilities is not available on the Gov.uk website.[50]

## See also

[edit]

* British intelligence agencies

## Notes

[edit]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "List of Cabinet Committees and their membership". GOV.UK. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
2. ^ a b Pestron, Robert (15 September 2024). "Sir Keir Starmer revives weekly National Security Council meetings". ITV News. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
3. ^ "Jonathan Powell: Starmer picks Blair aide as security adviser". BBC News. 8 November 2024. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
4. ^ "Appointment of Jonathan Powell as National Security Adviser". GOV.UK. Cabinet Office. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
5. ^ a b Devanny, Joe; Harris, Josh. "The National Security Council: National security at the centre of government" (PDF). Institute for Government. p. 6. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
6. ^ a b c Snell, Arthur (27 April 2019). "David Cameron made the Huawei leak possible". POLITICO. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
7. ^ "Press Notice: Establishment of a National Security Council". Prime Minister's Office. 12 May 2010. Archived from the original on 9 January 2013.
8. ^ Dr Joe Devanny & Josh Harris (4 November 2014). "The National Security Council: national security at the centre of government". The Institute for Government. Institute for Government & King's College London. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
9. ^ "National Security Council". GOV.UK. Retrieved 7 January 2025.
10. ^ a b "Conflict, Stability and Security Fund inquiry launched". Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy. UK Parliament. 26 May 2016. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
11. ^ Travis, Alan (6 March 2017). "Amber Rudd asked to reveal where secret £1bn conflict fund is spent". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 June 2017.
12. ^ "Huawei row: Inquiry to be held into National Security Council leak". BBC News. 25 April 2019. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
13. ^ a b c "FOI Reference:FOI328864" (PDF). What do They Know. 11 November 2019. Retrieved 13 February 2020. "At present the sub committees Nuclear Deterrence and Security Subcommittee, Threats, Hazards, Resilience and Contingencies Subcommittee, Strategic Defence and Security Review Implementation Subcommittee, and Cross-Government Funds Subcommittee do not exist"
14. ^ Sabbagh, Dan (12 May 2020). "UK national security council has not met since January". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
15. ^ Parker, Celia G (7 September 2020). "National Security Council: why it would be unwise for Johnson to reduce its role". British Politics and Policy at LSE. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
16. ^ "List of Cabinet Committees and their membership".
17. ^ a b c d "List of Cabinet Committees and their membership". gov.uk. Cabinet Office. 21 October 2024. Retrieved 15 February 2025.
18. ^ Crerar, Pippa; editor, Pippa Crerar Political (20 October 2024). "Angela Rayner given permanent seat on UK national security council". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 21 October 2024. `{{cite news}}`: `|last2=` has generic name (help)
19. ^ a b Lovegrove, Stephen (12 July 2021). "Supplementary written evidence submitted by Sir Stephen Lovegrove, National Security Adviser". parliament.uk. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
20. ^ "House of Commons – Decision-making in Defence Policy – Defence". Retrieved 24 July 2016.
21. ^ "Ed Miliband makes history by attending National Security Council". The Guardian. 12 April 2011. Retrieved 16 May 2023. "David Cameron thinks the old approach is out of date. So in opposition he pledged to establish a National Security Council (NSC) – effectively the cabinet's foreign affairs sub-committee – and said that the leader of the opposition would be invited on an occasional basis. Cameron said that there are some issues, such as Afghanistan, that are above party politics. This means that this afternoon Miliband will be given a seat in COBR (Cabinet Office briefing room) for a full meeting of the National Security Council."
22. ^ "Cabinet Office Structure Charts, page 12" (PDF). Cabinet Office HM Government. May 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 July 2010. Retrieved 6 July 2010.
23. ^ "Cabinet Office staff and salary data – senior posts as at 31 March 2013". Retrieved 7 November 2014.
24. ^ a b Dr Joe Devanny & Josh Harris (4 November 2014). "The National Security Council: national security at the centre of government". The Institute for Government. Institute for Government & King's College London. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
25. ^ "National Security Council:Written question – 215980". Retrieved 15 December 2014.
26. ^ Sophia Adhami. "Security and Diversity". Cabinet Office. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
27. ^ "Cabinet Office staff and salary data: senior posts as at 31 March 2016". Cabinet Office. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
28. ^ "KRG Deputy PM meets UK officials". Kurdistan Regional Government. Archived from the original on 18 August 2016. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
29. ^ "Letter from the Military Assistant" (PDF). Prime Minister's Office. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
30. ^ "Dr Christian Turner". Cabinet Office. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
31. ^ @CTurnerFCO. "A busy first week as Deputy National Security Adviser; farewell to @LyallGrant looking forward to working with @marksedwill". Twitter. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
32. ^ "Dr Christian Turner". gov.uk. British High Commission, Islamabad. 11 December 2019. Retrieved 11 December 2019. "British High Commissioner Designate to Pakistan: Dr Christian Turner CMG"
33. ^ "David Quarrey". gov.uk. 11 December 2019. Retrieved 11 December 2019. "Prime Minister's International Affairs Adviser and Deputy National Security Adviser David Quarrey CMG"
34. ^ Kerbaj, Richard (14 January 2018). "British security chief to advise Qatar on World Cup security". The Times. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
35. ^ @UKPolDirRichard (8 January 2018). "Excited to be starting my new job as DNSA today. "Allah utandırmasın" as the Turks say – meaning roughly "Let him not mess it up"". Twitter. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
36. ^ @UKPolDirRichard (8 April 2018). "Thrilled & honoured to be starting as U.K. Political Director in @foreignoffice tomorrow. Much to learn, much to do. Looking forward to it". Twitter. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
37. ^ "Investigators in hazmat suits enter Novichok victim's home". Press Association. 6 July 2018. Archived from the original on 22 October 2018. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
38. ^ "Government Response to Report on Diversity and Inclusion in the UK Intelligence Community" (PDF). Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament. 13 September 2018. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
39. ^ "UK Cabinet Office Organogram – Senior CSV data". Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament. 7 December 2018. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
40. ^ "Madeleine Alessandri Deputy National Security Adviser, National Security Secretariat, UK Cabinet Office". ambitionexpouk. 6 March 2019. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
41. ^ "Appointment of Permanent Secretary at the Northern Ireland Office". Cabinet Office and Northern Ireland Office. London. 7 January 2020. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
42. ^ "New Deputy National Security Adviser" (PDF). whatdotheyknow.com. Whatdotheyknow. 27 April 2020. Retrieved 28 April 2020. "Beth Sizeland is now Deputy National Security Adviser and Prime Minister's Adviser on National Resilience and Security"
43. ^ "Deputy National Security Adviser Alex Ellis". gov.uk. Cabinet Office. 15 April 2020. Retrieved 15 April 2020. "lex Ellis started as Deputy National Security Adviser for the Integrated Review on diplomacy, development and defence in January 2020."
44. ^ "Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee inquiry The Work of the Cabinet Office Oral Evidence 10 March 2020". committees.parliament.uk. Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee. 10 March 2020. Retrieved 25 May 2020. "There is a deputy who is the Prime Minister's Resilience and Security Adviser..Beth Sizeland, who has just been appointed"
45. ^ "Deputy National Security Advisers" (PDF). whatdotheyknow.com. Whatdotheyknow. 23 October 2020. Retrieved 23 October 2020. "David Frost remains Chief Negotiator for the EU talks and those negotiations will remain his top single priority until they have concluded, one way or another. Therefore, the Prime Minister agreed that David Quarrey should become Acting NSA"
46. ^ "International Affairs Appointments in No.10 and Cabinet Office". Number 10 Downing Street. London, UK. 29 January 2021. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
47. ^ "Prime Minister appoints Mr David Quarrey CMG as the UK's new Permanent Representative to NATO". Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office. London. 4 April 2022. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
48. ^ "David Quarrey CMG". gov.uk. 4 May 2022. Retrieved 4 May 2022. "David served as the Prime Minister's adviser on International Affairs and Deputy National Security Adviser from 2019 to 2022."
49. ^ "Integrated Review Annual Report". committees.parliament.uk. UK Hansard. 21 June 2022. Retrieved 1 August 2022. "Finally, I am pleased to tell you that Sarah MacIntosh has been appointed as Deputy National Security Adviser (International Affairs) and Matthew Collins has been appointed as Deputy National Security Adviser (Intelligence, Defence and Security)."
50. ^ Eliot Wilson (6 March 2025). "Government is dodging scrutiny on national security".

* v
* t
* e

National security advisers to the prime minister

* Ricketts (2010–2012)
* Darroch (2012–2015)
* Grant (2015–2017)
* Sedwill (2017–2020)
* Lovegrove (2021–2022)
* Barrow (2022–2024)
* Powell (2024–present)

## External links

[edit]

* Cabinet Office – National Security Council
* Cabinet Office – National Security
* Cabinet Committees
* Institute for Government/King's College London – The National Security Council: national security at the centre of government

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