Home Office
Thank you very much indeed for the invitation and opportunity to address you again. This is my second time speaking here. It was a year ago that I was able to immerse myself among some of the most fantastic and innovative companies that the UK and indeed countries around the world are bringing together here.
Its fantastic as well to see such innovation even in the last twelve months. While many of us have been focused on other security challenges, and in my case of course the death of her late majesty, the Queen, and the coronation of our new King, have dominated many of the security issues I have been particularly focused on.
Weve also been sadly witnessing Russias brutal, illegal, vile and unprovoked attack on Ukraine.
It saddens me that a year on, that war has not only continued but it has cost many many more lives The UK remains absolutely steadfast in our commitment to the defence of a free and democratic people in Ukraine and their ability to determine their own future, free from Russian aggression.
Russias actions have provided us all with a very clear and stark reminder of the delicate nature of global peace and stability. And once again we are being challenged to stand up for those values.
That challenge is one we must meet head on because, although the world is changing some core elements are not. We still have a very fundamental choice between us, the decision to defend our freedom and our democracy, and we are very clear on what side we stand.
But that also means standing with friends and partners. Because our security, the bedrock on which all our freedoms is built doesnt stand alone and is not set apart from those of NATO, Europe, Five Eyes and indeed many partners around the world.
The defence of our nation, the defence of our national security and of our citizens has been the guiding light of my working life. As many people know I have been a public servant in uniform and out of it for many years focusing entirely on the security of our people and our friends.
So I pay tribute to everyone across government, but particularly those in law enforcement, security and the intelligence community and of course in defence for everything they do in support of our nation.
As you know better than anyone, that mission goes beyond the state. It goes into industry, the private sectors, into academia and into individual ideas and innovations that are happening across the world and across the United Kingdom. So I pay huge tribute to all those in private sector who contribute to our security as well.
The relentless focus on the security of our people, our institutions, our economy and our values does not change.
That is not to say, however, that we can simply continue doing what we have always done.
In fact, that would be a mistake. The threats we face now, not only to life, but to our way of life, are as varied as they have ever been and are continuing to get more so.
The reality is that our adversaries are no longer as easily identifiable as the days when I was training at Sandhurst..
They dont wear uniforms, they dont carry flags, they dont walk around in the open..
The reality is that todays enemies, sadly are lurking on the internet and in the shadows.
They are using non-state actors, criminal groups and indeed private companies to undermine our security.
That danger comes from entire states and also from lone actors alike.
Now I dont say this to sound alarmist indeed, what I have seen over the last year has filled me with enormous confidence that the response that many companies here have made against these target, against these threats, and to protect ourselves.
But it is also important we underline a new era of warfare and security we live in.
So, what have we done about it? What have the last 12 months looked like? Well weve taken some very significant steps.
Ive mentioned Russia and Ukraine, and all of the activity to support Ukraine and how weve manage security implications for the UK over that time. How weve learnt from what weve seen there, and made sure that those lessons are embedded.
Closer at home, well, Ive been working to make sure our apparatus for fighting terrorism is as strong, precise and agile as it needs to be to keep the public safe.
Our counter-terrorism strategy, which many people know, CONTEST, has been in place now for over 20 years.
Over that time, it has been established as, lets face it, the best approach that weve seen around the world. Its based on the four pillars which many of you will be able to recite by heart: prevent, pursue, protect and prepare. I normally forget one of them.
There is no change to that core framework, but as the public would expect, we are constantly asking ourselves what we need to do to modernise it.
That culminated in the publication this summer of a refreshed version of CONTEST which many of you will have seen, to make sure the UK remains ahead of the enduring and evolving threat we face from terrorism, both here in the UK and to our interests abroad.
This updated strategy describes a need to respond to a domestic terrorist threat which is less predictable and harder to detect and investigate, a persistent and evolving threat from Islamist groups overseas, and an operating environment in which technological advances present both opportunities and risks.
CONTEST sets out how the UKs counter-terrorism response will remain agile in the face of an evolving threat, integrated so that we can bring the right interventions to bear at the right time to reduce risk, and aligned with our international allies to ensure that we can continue to deliver together.
And I will add that our partnerships with academia, the private sector and industry are critical in this endeavour, not only in supporting our counter-terrorism efforts with technological achievements, but also by injecting a drive for continuous improvement throughout our approach.
Now I mentioned earlier that we have to contend with threats not only to life but to our way of life, and that has perhaps been the most significant element of my work as Security Minister
Over the last 10 or 20 years, terrorism was quite rightly been the focus of my predecessors, the emergence of what we call state actors has now opened up a whole new dimension.
State threats are growing and diversifying as systematic competition intensifies. This can manifest itself in many forms, including espionage; interference; sabotage; physical threats to individuals; and attempts to undermine the rules based international system. Essentially, we are talking about is activity that seeks to undermine our security, our prosperity and our democracy.
So, Ive placed a huge amount of emphasis on the need to bolster our response to state threats. One of the most important questions we have to ask ourselves when confronting emerging dangers like this is do we have the powers we need are our laws up to date, do we have the tools for the task?
The truth is we didnt. And thats why we brought forward the National Security Act which was made law and the King signed only a few months ago. The Act brings together vital new measures to protect our national security. It overhauls and updates our outdated espionage laws, and creates a whole suite of measures designed to enable our law enforcement and intelligence agencies to deter, detect and disrupt the full range of modern-day state threats.
This is a genuine operational change in our ability to protect ourselves, the state and you as companies from the threat you may be facing to your intellectual property and your ability to provide essential defence.
Fraud is another area where we have sharpened up our response. These crimes pose a significant threat not just to individuals, but also to our collective prosperity and security. Earlier this year, we unveiled a new Fraud Strategy to stop scams at source, to boost protections for the public and strengthen the enforcement.
So thats a small flavour of the progress weve made over the last year. But, as I made clear at the beginning, we cannot afford to be complacent.
That need to be indefatigable in our thirst to learn, to improve our response and to bolster our capabilities was brought home in the starkest possible fashion by the heinous attack at the Manchester Arena only a few years ago.
That atrocity that occurred that night was an act of call it what it is an act of absolute, pure evil. While we cannot bring back those whose lives were so brutally cut short, we can do everything possible to prevent more families suffering in the way that the victims and their loved ones suffered that night.
A huge amount of work has already been undertaken since the attack, not least the Manchester Arena Inquiry itself, which ended in August.
But we must never stop To ensure we learn the lessons, the Home Office has established the Manchester Arena Inquiry Assurance Programme. The assurance programme will work closely with our emergency service partners to oversee the continued delivery of the Manchester Arena Inquiry recommendations now that the Inquiry has closed.
As with all Home Office work, it will be accountable to the Home Affairs Select Committee for its progress, and, crucially, it will also provide a range of engagement events for victims of the Manchester Arena attack. In so doing, the assurance programme will provide updates on recommendation delivery to those most affected by their work.
In May, we published the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Draft Bill.
This bill is truly known, correctly, as Martyns Law because we named