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BCI East of EnglandForum

FRIDAY 18.OCTOBER 2019

Central Government’sConcept of Operations

for responding to an emergency

ROGERKEMBERMA(DIST),BSC(HONS),MBCI,AEPSCrisis UK07940 018599rogerkember@gmail.com

v policyv practice (as illustrated by COBR operations for the London Underground bombings of 7.July 2005)v learning pointsv questions

presentation

incident

Cabinet Office Briefing Room

U.K. response structure

Gold - Silver - Bronze

Strategic Co-ordinating Group

the birth ofCOBR

COBR – Black September 1970

Leila Khaled

Iranian Embassy Siege

the step-changein terrorism

“The New Reality”

Civil Contingencies Secretariat

National Security Secretariat

COBR ‘Con. Ops.’

- from hostage negotiations to‘cascade failures’

COBR Conference Room

cabinetoffice.gov.uk/ukresilience

Conference Room

PoliceRoom

COBR

‘7/7’

an insider’s account

Lady Justice Hallett – 6.May 2011

Coroner’s Inquest

Thursday 7. July – 08:51 to 09:47

New Scotland Yard – 09:00

§ Central Command Complex§ ‘Major Incident’ declared§ Call cascade § GOLD GROUP called§ The MET. in Major Incident mode

N.S.Y. – 09:00

§Central Command Complex§ ‘Major Incident’ declared

§Call cascade – alert to Cabinet Office Duty Officer

§GOLD GROUP called§MPS in Major Incident mode

COBR Alert

Ø An ‘on call’ list of senior civil servants, Special Forces and Nat. Police Chiefs Council

Ø Cabinet Office 24 hr. Duty Officer

Ø An EARLY heads-up and pre-COBR meetings

CT Presumption 1

an incident that could be terrorist related

will be treated as terrorist related

until the contrary is proved

CT Presumption 2

A terrorist incident will treated as the first of a series of such incidents

until the contrary is proved

Con.Ops-Escalation levelsSignificant Emergency (Level 1)- Support from a Lead Government Department or

devolved administration.

Serious Emergency (Level 2)- A wide/prolonged impact requiring support & co-

ordination from several Departments.

Catastrophic Emergency (Level 3)- Exceptionally high/widespread impact requiring immediate central government direction & support.

Chair (P.M, Home Sec. or H.O senior civil servant)

Foreign &Commonwealth Office

MoD(Special Forces)

Secret Intelligence Service (MI6)

Security Service (MI5)

NPCC (Nat. Police Chiefs Council)

HM Treasury

Government Information Co-ordination Service(GICS)

Devolved Administrations

Territorial Departments (e.g. DH, DEFRA, DfT )

COBR membership

Two Weeks Before ‘7/7’

‘Hanover Weekend’ seminar

ü Put the SIO (Senior Investigating Officer) in the ‘virtual hot seat’

ü Psychologically prepared

ü Some mental pre-planning

preparation

H & S warning

( PD25111:Guidance on Human Aspects of Business Continuity )

Media coverage- 11.00

1st meeting of COBR – 11:00

ØWho was behind this attack?

ØWhen would the next attack be?

ØWhere would the next attack be?

COBR – 11:551st Media release

v what to disclose

v addressing the evening rush hour

The decision strategy

• Take all reasonable steps to find out

• Put H & S first

• Undertake a risk assessment and document it

• Apply ‘CT presumption 3’

CT Presumption 3

The UK government will NOT

do the terrorists job for them

7.July 2005 – 15:00

The 1st Press Conference

World coverage at Queen Elisabeth II Centre

the media strategy

ü seen to be in control

ü reassure all interested parties

ü no info. = no questions

Media coverage

time delay on live operations

(except foreign & social media)

Media coverage

H & S warning

( PD25111:Guidance on Human Aspects of Business Continuity )

Edgware Road

19:00 - ‘Worst Case’ scenario planning

7.July- the overnight backlash

v containing the crisis

v protecting potential victims

v preserving public order

8. July- 4 secondary targets

The investigation

break-through

Deforensication

Flitwick Railway Station

2 days on

- a decision needed

9.July Veterans Week -VE Day 60th Anniversary

The decision strategy

• Take all reasonable steps to find out

• Put H & S first

• Undertake a risk assessment and document it

• Apply ‘CT presumption 3’

The next Thursday

- a decision needed

The decision strategy

• Take all reasonable steps to find out

• Put H & S first

• Undertake a risk assessment and document it

• Apply ‘CT presumption 3’

CT Presumption 3

The UK government will NOT

do the terrorists job for them

Thursday 12. July- routine & reassurance

A second incident

Thursday 21st July 2005

Thursday 21st July 2005

The second incident

- a decision needed

The decision strategy

• Take all reasonable steps to find out

• Put H & S first

• Undertake a risk assessment and document it

• Apply ‘CT presumption 3’

Friday 22nd July – 10:12

A tragic error

Jean Charles de Menzes

22nd July 2005 – Press Conference

Leeds – Home of ‘7/7’

Mass casualties are the prime aim

Remembering the dead

Memorials become new iconic sites

The next

‘7/7’

‘9/11’ Commission

“Afailureofimagination”

H & S warning

distressing imagefollowing

The future for the UK ?

Bataclan Terrorist Attack, Paris13.November 2015

The future arrived in the U.K on 4.January 2018

“Todayanyonecanthreatenawholesocietywithaflask

carryingpathogenscreatedinagarage–

andwithoutadetectablesignature”

- DavidHoffman“TheDeadHand”

The future for the UK ?

Coroner’s Inquest

YourQUESTIONS

Please

Thank You

Roger Kember MA(Dist), BSc(Hons), MBCI, AEPSCrisis UK07940 018599rogerkember@gmail.com