Tugendhat delivers speech at International Security Expo

Security minister Tom Tugendhat delivered a speech on Tuesday at the International Security Expo.

Tugendhat spoke of the significant moments in the security industry that have occurred over the last year including the death of the queen and the coronation and the war in Ukraine, along with the updated CONTEST strategy, the National Security Act and the draft Martyn's Law Bill.

He paid tribute to everyone across government, and those in law enforcement, security and the intelligence community and in defence.

Tugendhat highlighted how threats have changed, with many now online and not in the open. This includes non-state actors, criminal groups and private companies, state actors and lone actors.

He mentioned out partnerships with academia, the private sector and industry are critical to tackling terrorism and continuous improvement.

The minister concluded: "Security in 2023, as you all know very well, is about so much more than government, the police and security services.

"It’s about all of you, it’s about making sure the entire mission   and buy-in from right across society and that people understand what we’re trying to do to keep our whole community safe. I am really grateful to all of you who, who day in day out, continue to prepare the United Kingdom and our friends and allies to respond.

"Thank you very much indeed for your time today. I am very confident that the work you are doing, that we are doing together, is going to keep us safe for many years into the future. The work that you do will also build into our economy a level of resilience and that level of control that means you are able to succeed."

Other speakers at the two-day event included the MP Tobias Ellwood who also put emphasis on collaboration with the private sector, highlighted Russia's human rights abuses and drew parallels with the 1930s.

At the Global Counter Terror & Serious and Orangised Crime Summit, in partnership with Counter Terror Business, Figen Murray, Travis Frain, Ann Travers and Máiría Cahill took part in a victim's panel, sharing their stories and what more can be done to support survivors and victims of terrorism.

On Day Two, Figen Murray joined Nick Aldworth, Tracy Reinhold, Barrie Millet and Debbie Bartlett on a panel on Martyn's Law.

Image by Chris McAndrew, CC BY 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons