National Security Adviser

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The National Security Adviser (NSA) is a senior official in the Cabinet Office, based in Whitehall, who serves as the principal adviser to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Cabinet of the United Kingdom on all national security issues. The NSA post was created in May 2010 as part of the reforms that also saw the creation of the National Security Council.[1] There have been five holders of the office to date, of whom two served more than three years in the post.[2]

The NSA is Secretary to the National Security Council, which is chaired by the Prime Minister, and head of National Security and Intelligence (National Security Secretariat), which is, in turn, part of the Cabinet Office.[3] The NSA will also advise Secretaries of State and other senior government ministers on issues of national security when necessary. The NSA was the Senior Responsible Officer for the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund, with a budget of over £1 billion.[4] This role has been passed to the Deputy National Security Adviser.[5]

The first National Security Adviser (NSA) of the United Kingdom was Sir Peter Ricketts,[6] who was previously Permanent Secretary of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee. Ricketts was succeeded by Sir Kim Darroch in January 2012. On 7 July 2015, it was announced that Sir Mark Lyall Grant would replace Darroch as National Security Adviser in early September 2015.[7]

It was announced in June 2020 that Mark Sedwill will step down from his role as NSA in September, and that current chief Brexit negotiator, David Frost, will serve as the NSA.[8] A FOI answer however, states that Frost continues as Chief Negotiator to the EU as of October 2020 and David Quarrey took over the role of acting NSA provisionally.[9] It was announced in January 2021 that Sir Stephen Lovegrove would become National Security Adviser at the end of March 2021, but the exact date has not been confirmed yet.[10]

The NSA is supported by at least two Deputy National Security Advisers, and serves at the pleasure of the Prime Minister. [11][12]


National Security Secretariat as at 30 June 2010. Source Cabinet Office Structure Charts, 2010. Retrieved from Internet Archive of 15 April 2015.

List of National Security Advisers

# Name Term start Term end Term length Prime Minister(s) served
1 Sir Peter Ricketts (Lord Ricketts) 12 May 2010 23 January 2012 1 year and 8 months[13] David Cameron
2 Sir Kim Darroch (Lord Darroch) 23 January 2012 7 September 2015 3 years and 7 months[14]
3 Sir Mark Lyall Grant 7 September 2015 13 April 2017 1 year and 7 months[15] David Cameron / Theresa May
4 Sir Mark Sedwill (Lord Sedwill) 13 April 2017 16 September 2020 3 years and 5 months[16] Theresa May / Boris Johnson
– David Frost (appointed but never served) 28 June 2020 (announced) 29 January 2021 (replaced before taking office) N/A[17][18] Boris Johnson
– David Quarrey (acting) 17 September 2020 25 March 2021 6 months[17] Boris Johnson
5 Sir Stephen Lovegrove 24 March 2021 13 September 2022 1 year and 6 months[19] Boris Johnson
6 Sir Tim Barrow 14 September 2022 29 November 2024 2 years and 2 months[20] Liz Truss / Rishi Sunak
7 Jonathan Powell 2 December 2024 Incumbent 1 year and 4 months (as of April 2026)[21] Keir Starmer

List of Deputy National Security Advisers

The Deputy National Security Adviser supports the National Security Adviser and Prime Minister on national security coordination and policy. There can be more than one DNSA at one time; some DNSAs are given specific titles referring to their specific remit.


# Name Term start Term end Term length Prime Minister(s) served Area of responsibility
1 Julian Miller July 2010 2015 ~5 years David Cameron Foreign & Defence Policy[22]
2 Olly Robbins 2010 2014 ~4 years David Cameron Intelligence, Security & Resilience
3 Hugh Powell 2013 2016 ~3 years David Cameron Foreign Policy
4 Paddy McGuinness 2014 April 2018 ~4 years David Cameron / Theresa May Intelligence, Security and Resilience[23]
5 Gwyn Jenkins 2015 2017 ~2 years David Cameron / Theresa May Conflict, Stability and Defence
6 Christian Turner 2017 2019 ~2 years Theresa May / Boris Johnson International Affairs[24]
7 Richard Moore 2018 2018 ~1 year Boris Johnson Intelligence, Security and Resilience
8 Madeleine Alessandri 2018 2020 ~2 years Theresa May / Boris Johnson National Resilience and Security
9 David Quarrey July 2019 April 2022 2 years 9 months Boris Johnson International Affairs
10 Beth Sizeland February 2020 2021 ~1 year 10 months Boris Johnson National Resilience & Security[25]
11 Alex Ellis 2020 2021 ~1 year Boris Johnson Diplomacy, Development & Defence[26]
12 Andrew McCosh 2021 present ~4 years 9 months (as of Apr 2026) Boris Johnson / Liz Truss / Rishi Sunak / Keir Starmer Technology
13 Matthew Collins ~2022 present Ongoing Liz Truss / Rishi Sunak / Keir Starmer Intelligence, Defence & Security (Executive DNSA)[27][28]
14 Dame Sarah MacIntosh 2022 2024 ~2 years Boris Johnson / Liz Truss / Rishi Sunak / Keir Starmer International Affairs / Foreign Affairs[29]
15 Jonathan Black ~2024 2025 ~1 year Keir Starmer International Economics and Global Issues[27]
16 Nick Catsaras 2025 Sep 2025 ~9 months Keir Starmer International Economics and Global Issues[30]
17 Anna Clunes August 2025 present ~8 months (as of Apr 2026) Keir Starmer —[31]
18 Dame Barbara Woodward December 2025 present ~4 months (as of Apr 2026) Keir Starmer International Affairs[27]

External links

Notes

  1. ↑ Joe Devanny and Josh Harris The National Security Council: national security at the centre of government Institute for Government/King's College London, 4 November 2014.
  2. ↑ Joe Devanny Why the UK needs a better process for appointing national security advisers Civil Service World 3 March 2017
  3. ↑ About - National security and intelligence.  GOV.UK.  Retrieved 2016-10-20.
  4. ↑ Conflict, Stability and Security Fund: Annual Report 2016/17 July 2017.
  5. ↑ CSSF Conflict, Stability and Security Fund: Annual Report 2017/18] 18 July 2018.
  6. ↑ Cabinet Office Structure Charts, page 12.  Cabinet Office HM Government.  Retrieved 6 July 2010.
  7. ↑ National Security Adviser appointment: Sir Mark Lyall-Grant.  Cabinet Office HM Government.  Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  8. ↑ UK's top civil servant announces exit. 2020-06-28. 
  9. ↑ Deputy National Security Advisers.  Whatdotheyknow.
  10. ↑ International Affairs Appointments in No.10 and Cabinet Office.  Cabinet office.
  11. ↑ David Quarrey.  gov.uk.
  12. ↑ Sir Mark Sedwill: UK's top civil servant steps down.
  13. ↑ UK Government, Establishment of a National Security Council GOV.UK, 12 May 2010.
  14. ↑ UK Government, Senior Diplomatic Appointments GOV.UK, 24 June 2011.
  15. ↑ UK Government, National Security Adviser appointment: Sir Mark Lyall-Grant GOV.UK, 7 July 2015.
  16. ↑ UK Government, Cabinet Office: new senior appointments and changes GOV.UK, 27 February 2017.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 UK Government, Appointment of Prime Minister’s National Security Adviser GOV.UK, 28 June 2020.
  18. ↑ BBC News, No 10 replaces Frost as National Security Adviser days before he starts BBC News, 29 January 2021.
  19. ↑ UK Government, International Affairs Appointments in No.10 and Cabinet Office GOV.UK, 29 January 2021.
  20. ↑ UK Government, Sir Tim Barrow appointed as National Security Adviser GOV.UK, 7 September 2022.
  21. ↑ UK Government, Appointment of Jonathan Powell as National Security Adviser GOV.UK, 8 November 2024.
  22. ↑ UK Government, Julian Miller GOV.UK, accessed April 2026.
  23. ↑ UK Government, McGuinness, Paddy - Deputy National Security Adviser GOV.UK, accessed April 2026.
  24. ↑ UK Government, Sir Christian Turner KCMG GOV.UK, accessed April 2026.
  25. ↑ UK Government, Beth Sizeland GOV.UK, accessed April 2026.
  26. ↑ UK Government, Alex Ellis KCMG GOV.UK, accessed April 2026.
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 27.2 UK Government, National Security and Intelligence - About us GOV.UK, accessed April 2026.
  28. ↑ UK Government, Witness statement 3 GOV.UK, accessed April 2026.
  29. ↑ UK Government, Dame Sarah MacIntosh DCMG GOV.UK, accessed April 2026.
  30. ↑ UK Government, Nick Catsaras CMG GOV.UK, accessed April 2026.
  31. ↑ UK Government, Anna Clunes CMG OBE GOV.UK, accessed April 2026.
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