By IANS
London : Premier Gordon Brown is to unveil a new all-encompassing security strategy Wednesday outlining how Britain will respond to threats ranging from terrorism and nuclear war to climate change, floods and flu pandemics.
As well as security threats, the strategy is expected to detail risks from immigration and scarce energy supplies, and seeks to involve ordinary citizens in meeting these challenges.
The National Security Strategy is expected to set out the efforts not only of government departments, but also the security services, armed forces, police and diplomatic services in predicting and dealing with threats to Britain.
Brown’s spokesman told reporters in Westminster: “We are facing an uncertain international landscape with new security challenges. We face a new terrorism threat of a different scale and nature.
“We continue to face the threat of nuclear weapons, but we face now new forms of attack such as electronic attack and increasing risks such as pandemics and also a deeper understanding of how issues like climate change and energy demand affect our national security.”
As well as long-recognised dangers like the prospect of nuclear arms falling into the hands of terror gangs, the strategy is expected to assess the national security implications of global warming.
Security Minister Lord Alan West underlined the complex nature of the task, saying: “It is highly complicated and it is very difficult, but we are leading the world on this.
“Rather than anything in the past which was produced – very much defence, foreign policy, a bit of Home Office, the threat to the state – we are now much more looking at the citizen and tying the citizen into this.
“Let’s think of their vigilance, how does this involve them.”