UK’s ability to prevent terror attacks made harder by political ‘chaos’, says Labour’s Yvette Cooper

Ministers have been accused of “escalating division” and ignoring national security, making it harder for police and intelligence agencies to protect the UK amid a heightened terror threat linked to the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Labour’s shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the political “chaos” in recent years has not provided the “steady” leadership required to keep the UK safe, after i revealed that the UK’s National Security Council (NSC) was unprepared for an increased terror threat emerging from the conflict in Gaza.

Five senior serving and former intelligence sources, including two who have contributed to NSC meetings, told i the revolving door of prime ministers in 2022 and the under-resourcing of the Cabinet Office team, which supports the body, has left it “under-performing” and “reactionary” to the threats it is in place to prepare for.

A former intelligence analyst at GCHQ told i that the ensuing damage done to the NSC meant it has struggled to “get ahead of the curve”, and can only focus on the “crocodile nearest the canoe”.

Ms Cooper said the revelations demonstrated “very serious warnings” that highlighted the need for “steady and focused leadership” after a period of inconsistency from the Government.

“Our domestic security response needs to keep up with fast-changing and ever more complex threats and challenges,” Ms Cooper said.

“Ministers need to recognise their responsibility to show leadership in bringing the country together on national security issues, rather than escalating division or making it harder for the police, intelligence and security agencies to do their jobs at a difficult time.”

Responding to i‘s revelations, senior backbench Tory MP Sir Iain Duncan Smith said the NSC is an “important tool” and getting it “functioning exactly as it was meant to be” should be a priority for the Government amid heightened terror threats stemming from the conflict in Gaza.

“Nothing illustrates how dangerous it is to have this organisation in any way underfunded and under supported than what is currently going on in the Middle East,” the former leader of the Conservative Party said. “The intelligence agencies will be doing their jobs, but what’s the point of them gleaning information that may be credible if they’re handing it to an organisation that is isn’t capable of handling it?”

The NSC is a central mechanism in the Government’s response and preparedness for hostile threats whereby spy chiefs and the heads of the armed forces brief Cabinet ministers on threats to national security and draw up policies to plan for them.

The NSC has held meetings in recent weeks to discuss and prepare for an increasing terror threat following heightened tensions over the war in the Middle East, i has learnt.

But an ex-government employee, who advised NSC attendees ahead of meetings, said in recent years the body has been solely focused on dealing with security issues from China and Russia, and had taken its eye off the ball over threats from the Middle East.

“I question the policy, strategy, and capability to deal with more than one major issue at a time,” they told i. “It’s a central issue of resourcing and managing resources. It’s the right decision to look at hostile state attention but that shouldn’t mean others drop off.”

Labour MP Sarah Champion, who sits on the Joint Committee on National Security Strategy, echoed the concerns and said the Government has prioritised lucrative trade deals over national security in the Middle East.

“The Governments Intergrated Review shifted focus, and resources, away from the Middle East,” she told i.

“Their Foreign Policy appeared to become more focused on trade deals than national security, with the perhaps inevitable consequences we are sadly seeing playing out now.”