UK TROOPS
Protection from ‘vexatious’ legal claims for troops The Conservative conference has heard how the government will unveil a legal measure it says will protect UK troops from ‘vexatious’ legal claims. Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said the legal system had been ‘abused’, with the change in policy likely to see parts of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) suspended during future conflicts. As an ‘important step towards putting that right’, the change, subject to a vote of both Houses of Parliament, would see the UK ‘derogate’ from Article two (right to life) and Article five (right to liberty) of the ECHR in future conflicts. The Ministry of Defence said it had spent over £100 million on Iraq‑related investigations,
inquiries and compensation since 2004. Speaking to BBC Breakfast, Prime Minister Theresa May said: “What we’ve seen is a whole industry of lawyers chasing after our troops and trying to bring claims against them, many of which are vexatious claims, and we want to put an end to that.”
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GLOBAL RELATIONS
US suspends talks with Russia The US has claimed it is suspending talks with Russia over Syria, accusing Moscow of having ‘failed to live up’ to its commitments under a ceasefire deal. Following intensified attacks against civilians, the US recently warned that it would halt the talks unless Moscow stopped bombing the city of Aleppo. Approximately 250,000 people are trapped in eastern Aleppo, with hundreds of people, including children, having died since government forces launched an offensive to take full control of Aleppo after the week-long truce lapsed. In a statement, John Kirby, state department spokesman, said: “The United States is suspending its participation in bilateral channels with Russia that were established
to sustain the cessation of hostilities. Unfortunately, Russia failed to live up to its own commitments, and was also either unwilling or unable to ensure Syrian regime adherence to the arrangements to which Moscow agreed. “Rather, Russia and the Syrian regime have chosen to pursue a military course. This is not a decision that was taken lightly.” Russia and the US were due to convene in Geneva to try to co-ordinate air strikes against jihadist groups, but American officials were told to return home. The two sides would keep talking about counter terrorism operations in Syria to avoid unnecessary clashes. READ MORE: tinyurl.com/hey7pfc
BREXIT
NCA warns on prevention measures post Brexit The National Crime Agency (NCA) has urged the government to ensure cross‑border crime prevention measures are not jeopardised by Brexit negotiations. Britain’s arrangements with Europe, including European arrest warrant and membership of Europol, face uncertainty following the UK’s decision to leave the EU last June. Membership of the EU allows the NCA and UK police forces to share intelligence quickly and efficiently with European counterparts. Europol, the EU’s law enforcement agency, helps member states fight serious international crime and terrorism. Lynne Owens, the NCA’s director
general, said: “We’ve been describing what we need to be in place post‑Brexit. We’re absolutely clear the policy decisions are not for us but we need to be spelling out the operational case. “In bluntest form, we must be able to continue to exchange intelligence and we must be able to understand the movement of criminals and criminal behaviour across international borders. We are supplying that information to the Home Office and it’s for them to make the policy negotiation.” READ MORE: tinyurl.com/jlxsyh5
NEWS IN BRIEF
CTB News
THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE FOR SECURITY TECHNOLOGY – www.counterterrorbusiness.com
National Cyber Security Centre HQ operational The UK’s new National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has officially opened for business as a public‑facing part of GCHQ that will act as the focal point for the government to deliver authoritative advice on tackling cyber security issues. Based in the Nova office and shopping complex near Victoria Station in London, the NCSC will have 700 staff, more than half of whom will be based in the new HQ, moving in to the building later this year and in early 2017. Remaining part of GCHQ, NCSC will bring together CESG – the Information Security arm of GCHQ – the Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure, CERT-UK and the Centre for Cyber Assessment, to form one organisation that will simplify the current cyber security landscape. While the operational centre will mainly focus on defensive work, it will be able to call on offensive capabilities developed by GCHQ and the Ministry of Defence. It will have specialist teams for the City, Whitehall, intelligence and security services, energy, telecoms and other parts of the critical national infrastructure. Ciaran Martin, former director of general cyber at GCHQ, will head up operations and will be supported by Dr Ian Levy, former technical director of cyber security at GCHQ. Martin said: “I’d like to thank everyone who has been involved in shaping this new exciting organisation. Our role is helping to make the UK the safest place to live and do business online. So we’re going to tackle the major threats from hostile states and criminal gangs. “But we’re also going to work tirelessly to automatically protect people from those smaller scale and deeply damaging attacks that cause so much disruption and frustration. We’ll also continue our work helping people and businesses understand better what they need to do to protect themselves.”
For more on The NCSC, turn to page 31. READ MORE:
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Issue 28 | COUNTER TERROR BUSINESS MAGAZINE
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