78. In 2016, the National Security Council approved a cross-Whitehall Russia Strategy. The latest iteration of the Strategy – in March 2019 – has an overarching long-term 'vision' of "A Russia that chooses to co-operate, rather than challenge or confront",[1] ***.
79. The Strategy is ordered under five pillars – Protect, Constrain, Engage, Keep Open and Build.[2] Responsibility for this implementation falls to the National Security Strategy Implementation Group for Russia, which comprises 14 departments and agencies. This Implementation Group is co-ordinated by the HMG Russia Unit in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), and chaired by the Senior Responsible Owner for implementing the Strategy (currently the FCO's Director-General Consular and Security). All seven organisations that we oversee are represented in the Implementation Group.
80. It is apparent that the cross-Whitehall Russia Strategy has certain similarities – both in format and more fundamentally – to the CONTEST counter-terrorism strategy. However, we understand that no direct lessons have been drawn from CONTEST in drawing up and implementing the Strategy.
81. There also appear to be certain similarities between the struggle against terrorism and Hostile State Activity – particularly in terms of public awareness – and more could be done to leverage the Government's experience on the former in relation to the latter. In particular, it is our view that, whilst MI5 already works with the police regional Counter-Terrorism Units (which have responsibility for Hostile State Activity), there is scope for them to work more closely together in this area.
82. The Home Secretary holds ministerial responsibility for MI5, the Foreign Secretary for SIS and GCHQ, and the Defence Secretary for Defence Intelligence. All three Secretaries of State have wide portfolios and busy diaries, and there will be natural limits to the extent to which they can devote time to Russia. However, it is clear that Russia is a high ministerial priority: the Home Secretary has informed us that he meets the Director-General of MI5 "at least once a week, sometimes more, and … in … *** … there has been some discussion around Russia",[3] and, when asked about how much he speaks to the Chief of SIS and the Director of GCHQ about Russia, the Foreign Secretary replied "***",[4] explaining his concern that Russia-related problems – whilst serious – risk crowding out broader global issues.
83. Policy responsibility for Hostile State Activity sits in the National Security Secretariat in the Cabinet Office. This appears unusual: the Home Office might seem a more natural home for it, as it would allow the Office for Security and Counter-Terrorism's (OSCT) experience on counter-terrorism matters to be brought to bear against the hostile state threat. We understand that Government's view is that Hostile State Activity is a cross-
- ↑ We note that the long-term vision of the previous iteration of the Russia Strategy was "a constrained Russia co-operating with the West, rather than challenging and confronting us" (the word 'constrained' has now been removed).
- ↑ Beneath each pillar sits a number of cross-Government 'campaigns' which aim to implement the Strategy.
- ↑ Oral evidence – Home Secretary, 31 January 2019.
- ↑ Oral evidence – Foreign Secretary, 7 February 2019.
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