The Chair of a parliamentary committee has said the Government
“cannot do everything” as he calls for the Government to set a
clear direction on national security.
Ahead of the publication of a new national security strategy
(NSS) later this year, , the Chair of the Joint
Committee on the National Security Strategy, has written to , Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, who oversees
national security and resilience policy across government.
“The NSS should be clear that the Government cannot do
everything,” the Chair writes. “It should set out why and how
certain issues are being prioritised, alongside a clear
articulation of what the Government will stop doing”.
The Chair also highlights the importance of public accountability
of national security, questioning again why the Government
refuses to allow the new National Security Adviser to give
evidence to the Committee.
“We struggle to understand why an evidence session with the
National Security Adviser should be a problem,” the Chair writes.
“The Government's reluctance to arrange this is an unforced error
of judgement which should be rectified at the earliest
opportunity.”
Referring to significant shifts in the United States' approach to
security issues in recent months, he says the Committee cautions
against both “overly hasty moves” and “an ostrich strategy”.
Instead, the Committee calls for the NSS to set out the direction
of travel for those areas in which the UK is most acutely reliant
on the United States.
Chair of the Committee, , said:
“The Government is facing many complicated challenges on national
security. It must make tough decisions about its priorities;
attempting to do everything, all at once, is unlikely to work.
The Government needs to focus on maximising our strategic
advantages to compete with adversaries, and on strengthening
societal resilience.
The new national security strategy is a chance to set a clear
direction and embed responsibilities across government. The
private sector has a crucial role to play too, and wider
engagement is crucial: we need to prepare businesses and the
public for the reality that our security environment is
deteriorating and our exposure to acute risks is growing.
We look forward to scrutinising the strategy and its delivery in
the coming months.”
