The Home Secretary today publicly confirmed the existence
of an organisation established to better understand the
threat of hostile state activity and inform the
government’s response.
The joint state threats
assessment team (JSTAT) was created in 2017 in
response to the increased and evolving threat the UK faces
from hostile states.
Home Secretary said:
We continue to face a very real and serious threat from
states who seek to undermine and destabilise this country
to pursue their own agendas.
It is vital that we continue to gain a deeper
understanding of the wide-range of threats we face in
order to take robust action to protect our national
security.
JSTAT has enhanced our capabilities and understanding of
the state-based threats we face and will continue to do
so in order to protect us at home and abroad.
The decision to publicly avow JSTAT has been taken in order
to maximise its utility to the national security community,
enabling greater engagement with stakeholders, industry and
academics.
It will also allow for broader communication of the threats
to government departments and agencies, as well as partners
across the private and charitable sectors, ensuring they
have access to information to better protect themselves.
Like other independent assessment bodies, including the
joint terrorism analysis centre, JSTAT reports to a
governance board comprising senior officials from across
the UK intelligence community and wider government
departments. The Director General of MI5 has ultimate
responsibility for the organisation.
The government continues to take steps to counter
state-based threats. This includes an ongoing review of
relevant legislation relating to hostile state activity,
including the Official Secrets Acts, to assess whether
additional powers are required.
