Homeland Security criticises government's security strategy

The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Homeland Security (APPG HS) has announced the publication of the inaugural report commissioned by the group, "Keeping Britain Safe: An Assessment of UK Homeland Security Strategy", which is being launched at a meeting in the House of Commons on Wednesday.  The report, which is available from the APPG Homeland Security's website, notes that whilst parts of the UK Homeland Security Strategy are well intentioned, "the strategy as a whole suffers from severe ambiguity in terms of implementation and measurability of success."    Neither the existing National Security Strategy (NSS) nor the Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR), the report says,  "offer any real guidance on what needs to be done." The report finds, among other things, that the UK Homeland Security Strategy fails to address in sufficient detail how to take effective action against the threat of extremism on university campuses, strengthen the resilience of British enterprise in the context of counterterrorism and ensure UK cyber security. Bernard Jenkin MP, Chairman of the APPG Homeland Security said: "The NSS and SDSR are not a satisfactory basis for the UK's Homeland Security strategy for the next five years.  The NSS was not so much a strategy as a static plan." Davis Lewin, Special Adviser to the APPG HS and author of the report said: "The general direction the government has taken on most matters related to Homeland Security is positive in principle.  However, we urgently need to see the detail behind the vague plans contained in the NSS and SDSR, which can at best be seen as works in progress." The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Homeland Security was formed in 2009 to research UK homeland security issues and contribute to the development of an effective government strategy in the areas of homeland security and national resilience.