National Security Adviser (United Kingdom) Explained

Post:	National Security Adviser
Insignia:	Coat of arms of the United Kingdom (2022, lesser arms).svg
Insigniacaption:	Royal Arms of His Majesty's Government
Incumbent:	Jonathan Powell
Incumbentsince:	2 December 2024
Department:	National Security Secretariat Cabinet Office
Nominator:	Prime Minister
Appointer:	The King
Termlength:	At His Majesty's pleasure
Reports To:	Prime Minister Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
Formation:	2010
Deputy:	Deputy National Security Adviser (DNSA)
Acting:	no

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		12 May 2010	23 January 2012		David Cameron	Conservative
2		23 January 2012	7 September 2015
3	Sir Mark Lyall Grant	7 September 2015	13 April 2017
					Theresa May		^[5]
4		13 April 2017	16 September 2020
					Boris Johnson		^[6]
–	David Quarrey (acting)	17 September 2020	25 March 2021				^[7]
5	Sir Stephen Lovegrove	24 March 2021	13 September 2022				^[8]
6	Sir Tim Barrow	14 September 2022	29 November 2024		Liz Truss		^[9]
					Rishi Sunak
					Keir Starmer	Labour
7	Jonathan Powell	2 December 2024	Incumbent				^[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)

External links

• National Security and Intelligence

Notes and References

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