YESTERDAY in Whitehall it was Security Strategy Day; today it's Defence Review Day; tomorrow it's Spending Review Day. Foreign Secretary William Hague appeared to be the principal spokesman on Security Strategy, which was a little odd. He said that Tier One of Britain's Security concerns are:
international terrorism, computer attacks, major accidents, international military crisis and -- natural hazards such as flu pandemic. It seems a bit of a rag bag but Mr Hague said it was the result of completely new thinking about threats in an age of uncertainty. Today's Defence Review announcement will presumably relate the future organisation and equipment of the Armed Forces to the threats included in the Security Strategy. Tomorrow's Spending Review will need to show how money will be allocated for the same purpose -- the new figure of 500 million pounds for cyber-computer security announced yesterday is probably extra to whatever the Armed Forces will get, including the Royal Navy's plane-less aircraft carriers.
Perhaps it is the piecemeal way in which these announcements are being made that leaves questions in the air about how well they have been co-ordinated.
But Bernard Jenkin, the Conservative chairman of the Commons Public Administration Committee , made the point on yesterday morning's Radio 4 Today show that the impression is still of a lack of strategic thinking for 20 to 30 years ahead and of everything being driven by the imperative of deficit reduction.
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