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| News |
| British Homeland Security Chief appointed |
| British Prime Minister, Tony Blair has appointed former Home Office permanent secretary Sir David Omand as his new "homeland security" chief. A move, which is hoped to improve post-September 11 securities, is a significant constitutional change. Sir David will combine the roles of Cabinet Office permanent secretary and Security and Intelligence Coordinator, giving him a powerful role at the centre of government. He will coordinate the activities of MI5 and MI6 as well as the GCHQ "listening" centre - a role previously held by the cabinet secretary, Sir Richard Wilson. Sir David will also take a seat on the key joint intelligence committee, which writes intelligence reports for Tony Blair and senior cabinet ministers. He has plenty of experience of Britain's security services having held previous posts as director of GCHQ and a policy role at the Ministry of Defence. The move came as an influential Commons committee warned that the UK could be "appallingly vulnerable" to a new wave of terror attacks. In a report on the war against terrorism, the Commons foreign affairs select committee warned that the government must step up its intelligence gathering activities in order to better protect British citizens |