In the UK, post-9/11, police work with local authorities and the business community to integrate all their counter-terrorism activities

I was in counter terrorism in London in the early 1990s. It was easy then. We had Iish Republican terrorism. Now, of course, it is a totally different ball game. Any great strategy that is developed must continuously be given rebirth and revised for the month by month changes in the innovation of attacks that the terrorists have. They have a strategy that has been developed five years ago and anybody who has seen it may change it.

    The fact is, that in some countries the intelligence agencies are fragmented.

In the UK, the Civic Contingency Act is the formalization of the police and local authorities working together with the business community, with the educational service, with health; so, every government department is working together or with the public sector.In the United Kingdom, where we are working together anyway, this has provided the framework within which we should act.

In data, we have internal security (MI5) and external security (MI6). We have utility companies as part of the physical national infrastructure working together with MI15 and MI6. We have the transport system, franchise agency, which is the intelligence side of transport security. We have the military, the police, fire services and ambulance services, any data 365 days a year, 24 hours a day.

We have combined all the intelligence services into one single point of contact and they work round the clock all the year round. I am quite pleased to point out that, because not so long ago, I remember working in counter terrorism with the Irish government, when we were entirely fragmented. If you go to MI5 Website, it will give you all the data, a very important issue today.

The National Counter Terrorism Study Office works within the MI5; it is the policing side. It actually tries to provide counter terrorism security advice. Our police officers, who deliver counter terrorism security, advise nationally.

There are counter terrorism security advisers in the 43 police forces that make up the United Kingdom. So, the local business groups, the local police officers, they get advice from Counter Terrorism Security Advisers (CTSA), about how to plan ways, how to protect buildings and specifically protect building infrastructure.

Bret Lovegrove, a retired British police officer, was head of counter terrorism in the city of London for 25 years. The above is an extract from his speech at the ‘Counter Terror and Security Solutions for India’ conference organized in New Delhi on April 18 by IPPAI (Independent Power Producers Association of India) and Aviation Watch