25 July 2019

PM CYBER 'FLOP'

David Wooding

BRITAIN’S defences have been eroded by the Government’s failure to keep pace with fast-changing threats to national security, a shock report reveals.

Theresa May is accused of “shying away” from urgent action to protect us from tech-savvy jihadists, cyber-attacks, the rise of China or rogue states like Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s Iran.
7Theresa May is accused of 'shying away' from urgent action needed to keep pace with national security threatsCredit: PA:Press Association

The outgoing PM has done little to combat risks she was alerted to almost a year ago, senior politicians say.

The Joint Committee on National Security concludes “government talks a better game than it plays”.

And it warns: “A reality check is urgently required.”


Defence and security funding is in chaos, the report concludes, with both fighting for cash from the same pot but with a long-term defence plan that was “never affordable” when drafted in 2015.

Former Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett, who chairs the committee, warned Boris Johnson faces tough decisions when he becomes PM this week.

She said: “This follow-up inquiry has confirmed our conclusions and, if anything, the UK faces even starker challenges one year on.”

The report concludes the rotational security landscape is changing more quickly than the five-yearly reviews can cope with.

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