...None the less, on all these matters, it is essential
that internal security practitioners prepare for an operational
cliff edge in the event of no deal or at the end of the transition
period. We therefore commend the contingency work undertaken by the
Crown Prosecution Service, National Crime Agency, Metropolitan
Police and others in planning for these
possibilities...
...The police—including Lynne Owens, the director-general of
the National Crime Agency, and Metropolitan Police
Commissioner Cressida Dick—have been outspoken in their views.
Cressida Dick was misreported because the headlines said that she
was worried about a no-deal Brexit but, where her remarks covered
Brexit at all, she said:
“We will have to replace some of things we currently use in terms
of access to databases, the way in which we can quickly arrest
and extradite people, these kinds of things, we’ll have to
replace as effectively as we can. That will be more costly,
undoubtedly, slower, undoubtedly and, potentially, yes, put the
public at risk”.
Those remarks covered any kind of Brexit...
...I agree very much with the Government about the need for
a comprehensive agreement on security matters as referred to by
virtually all noble Lords, including the noble Lord, . The committee is suggesting
other options only because of its concern that we could otherwise
leave ourselves exposed if no agreement is reached. I agree about
the importance of continued data sharing; the Data Protection Act
2018, bringing us in line with the GDPR regulations, is very
welcome and clearly means that we start from a position where we
are aligned. I join with the committee in commending the
contingency planning work done by the Crown
Prosecution Service, the Metropolitan Police, and
the National Crime Agency and others in
case the UK loses access to databases and other frameworks for
security co-operation. But these organisations and the people
working for them need to be better served by the politicians in
charge of the process...
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