Security & Defence

Jonathan Powell, the former diplomat, chief of staff to Tony Blair and Northern Irish peacebroker, is currently trying to negotiate a ceasefire in Libya. Matt Ross asks him about the FCO, sofa government, and the ups and downs of liberal interventionalism

Lord Levene hails a ‘sea change’ at the MoD

Chief of defence staff General Sir Nicholas Houghton (pictured left) calls for “smarter” thinking on big data and finance in the Ministry of Defence 

Executive agency responsible for the “land arm” of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has been sold for £140m, it was announced today

The civil service has allowed large companies to become “quasi-monopoly suppliers” with too much contractual advantage, say the NAO today.

Peter Hennessy interviews former MI5 chief Eliza Manningham-Buller about the three decades she spent tackling the Soviet threat, the IRA and Islamist terrorism

Chief executive of the UK Hydrographic Office (UKHO) Ian Moncrieff CBE (pictured here receiving his CBE) will retire on 31 January 2015 after eight years, it was announced yesterday. 

Portcullis House was evacuated this morning after a “suspicious” looking item was found.  Police have since told CSW this was a “false alarm” and people have been allowed back into the building.

Outsourcing group Serco is selling off the majority of its private sector business process outsourcing (BPO) companies to raise funds and focus on supplying for governments, according to a stock exchange announcement by the firm earlier this week.

UK secret service bodies, MI5, MI6 and GCHQ, will start a recruitment drive for more Russian and Mandarin linguists this month.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has announced the three private sector companies who have been offered contracts to deliver its £164bn equipment plan. 

Alex Younger has today taken up his new role as chief of the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), taking over from Sir John Sawers, who retired after five years in the post. 

The Defence Select Committee chair has criticised the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) prioritising management skills over local expertise in its overseas staff, and expressed scepticism over the UK’s approach to developing strategy. 

Chief of the Met police Bernard Hogan-Howe has said he “welcomes” Home Secretary Theresa May’s pause on the review of whether counter-terrorism should stay a policing function.

Phil Gormley, deputy director-general of the National Crime Agency (NCA), outlined the key crimes the UK recognise as falling under the tier two threat of ‘serious and organised crime’. 

The threat of serious and organised crime should be given recognition when discussing national security, according to the National Crime Agency (NCA). 

Margaret Hodge today stated that confusion at the centre of government is impacting on the government’s ability to “deliver value for taxpayers’ money”.

A National Audit Office (NAO) report reveals the number of foreign national offenders (FNOs) deported from the UK remains broadly unchanged whilst the number of FNOs in prison has increased by 4% since 2006 despite a tenfold increase in Home Office staff working on FNO cases. 

The chief of the Met Police has today emphasised the importance of the Home Office’s anti-radicalisation ‘Prevent’ strategy, arguing that "we can't arrest our way out of this problem. We do have to do a lot around prevention. Radicalisation is not an event, it's a process.”

Admiral Lord West predicts that more emergency legislation over monitoring communications is likely to be needed if the Communications Data Bill does not go forward.

Journalist and historian Peter Hennessy meets former chief of the defence staff General Sir David Richards to discuss Whitehall’s internal wars, and the need for truly strategic thinking in Whitehall