National Security Adviser
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]
Contents
List of National Security Advisers
| # | Name | Term start | Term end | Term length | Prime Minister(s) served | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lord Ricketts | 12 May 2010 | 23 January 2012 | Template:Age in years and days | David Cameron | |
| 2 | Lord Darroch | 23 January 2012 | 7 September 2015 | Template:Age in years and days | ||
| 3 | Sir Mark Lyall Grant | 7 September 2015 | 13 April 2017 | Template:Age in years and days | ||
| Theresa May | ||||||
| 4 | Lord Sedwill | 13 April 2017 | 16 September 2020 | Template:Age in years and days | ||
| Boris Johnson | ||||||
| – | David Quarrey (acting) | 17 September 2020 | 25 March 2021 | Template:Age in years and days | [13] | |
| 5 | Sir Stephen Lovegrove | 24 March 2021 | Incumbent | Template:Age in years and days | [14] |
List of Deputy National Security Advisers
There can be more than one DNSA at one time; some DNSA's are given specific titles referring to their specific remit.
- Julian Miller (2010–2015)
- Olly Robbins (2010–2014)
- Hugh Powell (2013–2016)
- Paddy McGuinness (2014–2018)
- Gwyn Jenkins (2015–2017)
- Christian Turner (2017–2019)
- Richard Moore (2018)
- Madeleine Alessandri (2018–2020)
- David Quarrey (2019–present) (International Affairs)
- Beth Sizeland (2020–present) (National Resilience & Security)
- Alex Ellis (2020–2021)
- Andrew McCosh (2021–present) (Technology)
External links
Notes
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ Joe Devanny Why the UK needs a better process for appointing national security advisers Civil Service World 3 March 2017
- ↑ About - National security and intelligence. GOV.UK. Retrieved 2016-10-20.
- ↑ Conflict, Stability and Security Fund: Annual Report 2016/17 July 2017.
- ↑ CSSF Conflict, Stability and Security Fund: Annual Report 2017/18] 18 July 2018.
- ↑ Cabinet Office Structure Charts, page 12. Cabinet Office HM Government. Retrieved 6 July 2010.
- ↑ National Security Adviser appointment: Sir Mark Lyall-Grant. Cabinet Office HM Government. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
- ↑ UK's top civil servant announces exit. 2020-06-28.
- ↑ Deputy National Security Advisers. Whatdotheyknow.
- ↑ International Affairs Appointments in No.10 and Cabinet Office. Cabinet office.
- ↑ David Quarrey. gov.uk.
- ↑ Sir Mark Sedwill: UK's top civil servant steps down.
- ↑ Appointment of Prime Minister's National Security Adviser. Cabinet Office.
- ↑ Appointment of Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Defence.
