No 10 set for national security shake-up
By politics.co.uk staff
Downing Street is likely to create a new national security adviser post regardless of who wins the election, according to a report.
The role, mirroring the US post which Condoleezza Rice filled during ex-president George Bush’s first term in office, forms a key part of David Cameron’s proposed national security reforms.
Now Mr Brown is thought to be sympathetic to arguments a single unifying figure is needed to coordinate the prime minister’s stance on international issues, the Financial Times reported.
“Virtually everyone involved agrees that you need someone in No 10 with a bit more authority across government to drive through the issues of the day.
“There’s a sense that there is no one figure who can bat for the PM across the range of issues, internationally and across Whitehall.”
The actions of senior defence chiefs who briefed against the prime minister on equipment for the troops, including General Sir Richard Dannatt, are thought to have highlighted the need for a new figure.
In Mr Brown’s No 10 three senior civil servants have overseen policy on global issues, focusing on security and intelligence, military and European Union issues.
