National Security Adviser (United Kingdom)

National Security Adviser
Royal Arms of His Majesty's Government
since 2 December 2024
National Security Secretariat
Cabinet Office
Reports toPrime Minister
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
NominatorPrime Minister
AppointerThe King
(on the advice of the Prime Minister)
Term lengthAt His Majesty's pleasure
Formation2010
First holderSir Peter Ricketts
DeputyDeputy National Security Adviser (DNSA)

The National Security Adviser (NSA) is a senior official in the Cabinet Office, based in Whitehall, who serves as the principal adviser to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Cabinet of the United Kingdom on all national security issues. The NSA post was created in May 2010 as part of the reforms that also saw the creation of the National Security Council.[1] There have been six holders of the office to date, two of whom served more than three years in the post.[2] Until 2024, the NSA acted as Secretary to the National Security Council, which is chaired by the Prime Minister, and head of the National Security Secretariat in the Cabinet Office.[3] Each National Security Adviser has been supported by at least two Deputy National Security Advisers.

Responsibilities

The National Security Adviser is the principal official adviser to the Prime Minister and Cabinet on national security matters. These responsibilities have included:[4]

  • Providing advice to the Prime Minister and the Cabinet on national security. This includes strategy, policy, capability and civil contingencies.
  • Acting as Secretary to the National Security Council.
  • Leadership to and management of the national security teams in the Cabinet Office.
  • Bringing together the wider national security community across Whitehall and the UK Government's overseas network.
  • Cultivating and maintaining a network of international stakeholders as well as contacts with relevant counterparts, businesses, industry and civil society groups.

List of national security advisers

# Name Term start Term end Term length Prime Minister(s) served Party Ref
1 Sir Peter Ricketts 12 May 2010 23 January 2012 1 year and 257 days David Cameron Conservative
2 Sir Kim Darroch 23 January 2012 7 September 2015 3 years and 228 days
3 Sir Mark Lyall Grant 7 September 2015 13 April 2017 1 year and 219 days
Theresa May [5]
4 Sir Mark Sedwill 13 April 2017 16 September 2020 3 years and 157 days
Boris Johnson [6]
– David Quarrey (acting) 17 September 2020 25 March 2021 190 days [7]
5 Sir Stephen Lovegrove 24 March 2021 13 September 2022 1 year and 174 days [8]
6 Sir Tim Barrow 14 September 2022 29 November 2024 2 years and 106 days Liz Truss [9]
Rishi Sunak
Keir Starmer Labour
7 Jonathan Powell 2 December 2024 Incumbent 27 days [10]

List of deputy national security advisers

Since the creation of the position of National Security Adviser, there have always been at least two deputy national security advisers.

  1. Julian Miller (2010–2015)
  2. Olly Robbins (2010–2014)
  3. Hugh Powell (2013–2016)
  4. Paddy McGuinness (2014–2018)
  5. Gwyn Jenkins (2015–2017)
  6. Christian Turner (2017–2019)
  7. Richard Moore (2018)
  8. Madeleine Alessandri (2018–2020)
  9. David Quarrey (2019–2022)
  10. Beth Sizeland (2020–2021)
  11. Alex Ellis (2020–2021)
  12. Andrew McCosh (2021–2022) (Technology)
  13. Sarah MacIntosh (2022–2024) (International Affairs)
  14. Matt Collins (2022–present) (Intelligence, Defence and Security)

References

  1. ^ Joe Devanny and Josh Harris (4 November 2014). "The National Security Council: national security at the centre of government". Institute for Government/King's College London.
  2. ^ Joe Devanny (3 March 2017). "Why the UK needs a better process for appointing national security advisers". Civil Service World.
  3. ^ "About - National security and intelligence". GOV.UK. Retrieved 2016-10-20.
  4. ^ "Sir Tim Barrow GCMG LVO MBE". GOV.UK. Retrieved 2023-06-25. Text was copied from this source, which is available under an Open Government Licence v3.0. © Crown copyright.
  5. ^ "National Security Adviser appointment: Sir Mark Lyall-Grant". 7 July 2015. Retrieved 16 November 2024.
  6. ^ "Mark Sedwill appointed as National Security Adviser". Home Office. 27 February 2017. Retrieved 16 September 2022.
  7. ^ "Appointment of Prime Minister's National Security Adviser". Cabinet Office. 28 June 2020. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  8. ^ "Appointment of Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Defence". gov.uk. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  9. ^ "Sir Tim Barrow appointed as National Security Adviser". gov.uk. Retrieved 16 September 2022.
  10. ^ "Appointment of Jonathan Powell as National Security Adviser". gov.uk. Retrieved 16 November 2024.